IT departments, like other departments, have been impacted by diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. According to CNBC , DEI-related job postings fell by 44% in mid-2023 and 23% year over year in November after growing 30% between 2020 and 2021, which was fueled by George Floyd’s murder by police. The author points to DEI-related cuts at Google and Meta, which included DEI staffers and impacted DEI-related programs.
“What I hear from companies and what our research has shown is that the diversity officer job, the idea that the diversity initiative would be owned by this HR department or group or leader is falling out of favor. [T]he chief diversity officer is being demoted, the number of jobs like that is shrinking, and so it's not so as much of a corporate PR thing that like it used to be,” says Josh Bersin, industry analyst and CEO of advisory firm The Josh Bersin Company . “We have hiring targets for women in tech, African Americans, Asians, or whatever it may be, that’s all falling away.
What’s replacing it is a shortage of talent, and difficulty in hiring. Almost everybody we talked to is suffering from the 3.8% unemployment rate.
” What’s Driving the Talent Shortage According to Bersin’s research, what’s driving the talent shortage are people having fewer children, the economic growth in most countries, and the demand for IT skills, AI skills, and data skills. Related: The Role that Mentors Play in Closing the Gender Gap “Companies are in .
