One year after George Floyd’s death, corporate America is still scrambling to hire chief diversity officers

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In the 365 days since George Floyd’s murder, protests have turned a spotlight on racial inequality in Corporate America. In response, businesses have scrambled to hire leaders focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, adding to what was already a growing number of diversity execs in the leadership Slack channel.

In the five years leading up to September 2020, the number of people with the title “head of diversity” rose 107%, “director of diversity” 75%, and “chief diversity officer” 68%, according to LinkedIn.

Good luck holding on

Turnover among top diversity execs is fairly high. Recruiters estimate that the average chief diversity officer (CDO) tenure is about three years-less than one might expect considering the median comp is $600k/year at companies with $3+ billion in revenue.

While they may be fielding more offers than their colleagues, CDOs regularly run into walls at work, including unrealistic expectations and a lack of resources and support from their company’s top brass, the WSJ reports.

“It requires an emotional muscle unlike any role I’ve ever worked in,” Eli Lilly’s top diversity exec Joy Fitzgerald told the WSJ. “You have to be comfortable knowing that the norm is managing discomfort.”

CDOs have been busy

Diversity and inclusion hiring spiked last June following global Black Lives Matter protests. And in the last year, some of the bluest-chip names in biz have tied executive compensation to diversity targets, including Chipotle, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Nike, and Apple.

But hiring a CDO isn’t a quick fix. HR experts warn that a successful diversity strategy needs to tie into business results, rely on more than one leader, and focus on longer-term changes.

Zoom out: American companies have been rethinking their responsibility to society for several years, most notably in 2019 when the influential Business Roundtable said profits and shareholders aren’t everything. For many C-suites, George Floyd’s murder elevated diversity and inclusion to the top of the agenda.

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