During the Spring 2024 semester, Rekha Chowdhury WG’24, Amy Fang C’24 SEAS ‘26, and Aditya Jayant Ganapathiraju SEAS’24, worked with biopharmaceutical company CSL Behring on a special research project relating to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). The student group developed an external DEI initiative focused on broadening the company’s network of suppliers and vendors—a topic which is of increasing interest as firms seek to expand DEI programs beyond hiring and recruitment.
We spoke to Rekha, Amy and Aditya about their experiences and what they think of the current state of corporate DEI.
Tell me about your background and what made you take on this project.
Rekha Chowdhury: I have 15 years of work experience in HR, specifically in compensation and people analytics. Most recently, I was the head of compensation and people analytics at Box. I’ve been in the tech space, leading teams in this area. I care passionately about diversity, equity, and inclusion. It forms the core of everything I do, whether internally with companies or as a consultant.
Amy Fang: I’ve done other consulting projects on topics like market sizing, profitability increase, and go-to-market strategy, but I feel like DEI is a big topic in the consulting world right now. Working on this project was a good chance to explore what’s going on and what people are really thinking about when it comes to this issue.
Aditya Jayant Ganapathiraju: Like Amy said, this is a huge topic in consulting, and I’ve come across it many times. I have a background in robotics, so it’s a new topic for me, but I wanted to learn something new. I really appreciated getting to explore the academic research around this topic.
When we think about DEI, we often think about internal initiatives such as hiring and recruiting, or workplace policies that impact employees. But your project was focused on external DEI, specifically increasing diversity (gender, race/ethnicity, LGBT+ status) among the suppliers and vendors with whom CSL Behring works. What is interesting or important about this topic?
Rekha Chowdhury: Supplier diversity has far-reaching impacts beyond simply engaging a women- or minority-owned business. By engaging a supplier run by a diverse family or group, you’re helping multiple people downstream: the supplier, their families and their communities. The dollars you invest ripples outwards.
Amy Fang: One of my major takeaways was that external DEI is hard. It’s easy to see the benefits of increasing supplier diversity but it can be hard to implement and track any DEI initiative, especially ones with knock-on effects down the supply chain.
Some people think we are experiencing a “DEI backlash,” with some companies cutting or downsizing their diversity programs and prominent critics like Elon Musk speaking out against DEI. At the same time, we also have evidence that interest in DEI is still high. For example, here at Wharton, we recently introduced an academic major in DEI and launched the Center for Equity and Opportunity (CEO). What, in your opinion, is the current state of DEI?
Rekha Chowdhury: There are two forces at play here. On one hand, we have critics of DEI who are quite loud in this country. On the other hand, we have significant data and research showing the positive impacts of DEI. It’s not just about feeling good or doing the right thing socially; we now have tangible data linking DEI to organizational and financial outcomes.
Companies and leaders who want to be at the forefront of this movement are doubling down on their efforts. While critics may be louder than before, companies like CSL Behring and others are focusing on transparency and compliance with legislation. For instance, there is increasing legislation in the U.S., such as pay transparency and pay equity reporting. Europe is also passing significant directives, like the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will take effect in 2025.
Whether companies like it or not, they have to comply with these laws or face fines. These laws require transparency in how different demographics are paid, which means thinking about equitable practices in pay, hiring, promotion, and retention.
While social media amplifies the voices of critics, the reality is that legislators are pushing for more transparency and equity and leading companies, including major tech firms, are not cutting their DEI initiatives. They continue to report pay ratios in their ESG reports, maintain DEI departments, and focus on diversity in hiring. In my experience working in tech in the Bay Area, companies are not changing course; if anything, they are doubling down on their DEI efforts.
Aditya Jayant Ganapathiraju: It’s a sensitive issue, especially with the election coming up. But more research is coming out now that it’s been a few years since many of these new policies have been implemented. I think that the more data people see, the more they will understand that DEI is a beneficial thing for companies and individuals.
Amy Fang: People need to understand the deeper concepts and goals behind DEI to go beyond a superficial focus on metrics. And companies that adopt DEI policies need to understand that it’s more about checking a box – it’s about creating an environment that is truly diverse, where everyone can contribute.
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