Virtue-Signalling Window Dressing Optics in the Corporate World

Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy

 

"It's very much purely words and no actions. They can talk all they like, but do they actually deliver on things? And the answer is no, not really. So they're not really being especially discriminatory when it comes down to it."

"It's just saying one thing and doing another. So corporations are particularly good at that. It's very much window dressing. It's virtue signalling. [They do it] because they know that it's good for reputation if they say these things."

"Canadian firms are heavily engaged in social engineering. [The practise] extends well beyond the office. [Companies fund groups that] advocate controversial issues." 

Leigh Reveres, report lead author. University of Toronto professor emeritus  

"[DEI  began with good intentions but became] an ideology that has gone much too far. [Corporations now] prefer equality of outcomes [over equality of opportunity]."

"Tech [on the other hand] stands out in a good way."

"[Explicit bias rarely surfaces in job postings.] But that does not mean that discrimination and preferential hiring is not happening. Because the fact that almost everyone has to go through this DEI training, and we see that DEI is completely ubiquitous throughout corporate Canada."

"It's extremely unlikely that that's not affecting decision-making in the job hiring process." 

David Hunt, research director, Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy 

According to a recently released study that the Aristotle Foundation published as a report titled Corporate Discrimination Index, where for 25 of the largest Canadian-owned companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange, merit-based hiring remains the standard, despite Diversity, Equity and Inclusion being widespread. Most of the companies were studied for the report to determine their hiring practices and how frequently language in sync with DEI appears in corporate reports. The study drew on 500 job postings and a 42-term 'woke lexicon' in annual and ESG reports.

 

The study led the foundation to conclude that 96 percent of companies provide DEI training; 88 percent declare demographic hiring or promotion targets, while 80 percent promote DEI in job postings. As well, 88 percent declare demographic hiring or promotion targets,while 80 percent promote DEI in job postings, What is described as ideological or political groups was deemed to be funded by 88 percent. And although Mr. Hunt claimed unwillingness to 'pass judgment' on the funding, a bank, in his opinion, 'should be a neutral actor'.

 

Intact, on the foundation's Corporate Discrimination Index, ranks number one, with a score of 67 of 100, while Shopify scored zero in the index that assigns 60 percent of its weight to preferential and restrictive hiring, with preference --  found in under five percent of postings, and restrictions in two of 500. Shopify scored zero based on the fact that it "exclusively hires based on merit". Intact's score, on the other hand, was based largely on postings encouraging applications from "equity-deserving groups". 

 

The frequency with which DEI terms appear in corporate documents is counted in a separate language index. Built by the foundation in view of the fact that explicit bias rarely surfaces in job postings, which did not disqualify the ideological wording from influencing  hiring. Another takeaway from the report was sectors making use of greater amounts of ideological language tend to discriminate more frequently in hiring. Technology was a sole standout with a low score in that metric. 

 

This, according to the foundation is a "DEI Paradox" where companies promote DEI publicly yet continue hiring largely on the base of merit; frequent use of the specific language reflects a workplace culture that veers toward discrimination. What DEI "really means is setting quotas", stated Professor Revers; setting demographic targets in advance signals "you're kind of prejudging the candidate pool. But what you're really doing is pre-emptively setting the playing field.That's what we consider to be discrimination." 

 

The report found that 96% of the companies that were studied provide DEI training, 88% declare demographic hiring or promotion targets and 80% promote DEI in job postings. Photo by Adobe Stock

 

"[Corporations] were sold down the river on this [by] the academics in the universities [though some companies are now retreating]."

"[DEI is] kind of in hiding now. The word has been toxified. Canada's not crazy."

Leigh Revers, professor emeritus, Master of Biotechnology, University of Toronto