NEW YORK, NY – After George Floyd's murder ignited a racial justice movement, corporations quickly adopted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, five years later, many of these same companies are revisiting their commitments following the reelection of President Donald Trump. Meta, Amazon, and McDonald’s have scaled back their DEI programs, citing political and legal pressures. Research from Columbia Business School Professor Rebecca Ponce de Leon shows that these decisions may affect perceptions of these companies for years to come, particularly the perceptions of Black consumers.
In the study Sincere solidarity or performative pretense? Evaluations of organizational allyship, Professor Ponce de Leon, Cornell University Professor James Carter, and Duke University Fuqua School of Business Professor Ashleigh Shelby Rosette show that if companies want to be seen as authentic allies, they must demonstrate a consistent commitment – with words that are supported by action. To arrive at these conclusions, they investigated how Black consumers perceived corporate allyship statements from Fortune 500 companies released in response to the murder of George Floyd. They discovered that while financial investment can signal seriousness, these costly demonstrations must be paired with an ongoing pattern of consistent support. Black consumers won’t find DEI commitments genuine without sustained and reliable allyship, especially when it may be unpopular or risky.
“In 2020, we saw companies attempt to position themselves as allies through public statements, internal DEI policies, and donations to Black movements or communities. Now we’re seeing many of those same companies backing away from those commitments,” said Rebecca Ponce de Leon, Assistant Professor at Columbia Business School. “Our research shows that – absent continued action – these statements are seen as one-off gestures. If these companies want to be recognized as allies, Black consumers expect them to build a reputation of consistent support for marginalized communities over time.”
The research team analyzed 348 allyship statements from Fortune 500 companies issued after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. To analyze the statements, researchers focused on two key factors that significantly shape perceptions of corporate allyship: costliness—measured as both financial investments (e.g., donations) and reputational risks (e.g., explicitly naming victims of racial violence or affirming that Black Lives Matter)—and consistency, which reflects a company’s long-term alignment with its stated commitments. To index consistency, researchers used Fortune’s “Measure Up” rankings to gauge company track records on diversity and inclusion — the media outlet’s rankings considered 14 metrics, including the percentage of minorities on the board and the percentage of employees that are women. In one experiment, the research team surveyed 1,315 Black participants who evaluated a subset of these real-world statements, rating their agreement with items like "This company supports Black people” and "This company is an ally to Black people” to indicate their perceptions of each company‘s allyship. Companies with costlier statements received higher allyship ratings, especially when accompanied by consistent prior organizational actions (i.e., a better “Measure Up” ranking). In a second experiment, researchers presented 686 Black participants with a hypothetical allyship statement varied in both cost (e.g., financial pledges) and consistency (e.g., years of recognition for their diversity efforts). Participants used the same items from the previous experiment to indicate the extent to which they perceived the hypothetical companies as allies based on their ostensible allyship statement. Highly costly and consistent statements received the highest allyship scores, with consistent companies significantly outperforming inconsistent ones.
Additional Takeaways:
- Words Versus Action: Companies with a consistent track record of supporting diversity and inclusion are trusted more, even if their recent statements or actions aren’t as bold or costly.
- It Takes Two: Companies that signaled both high cost and high consistency received the highest allyship ratings compared to companies that signaled only one or the other.
“When business leaders roll back DEI measures, they’re sending a clear signal to Black consumers,” said Professor Ponce de Leon. “If a company boldly declared ‘Black Lives Matter’ five years ago but has since retreated from that stance, it conveys inconsistency and opens a company up to scrutiny of their authenticity.”
To learn more about the cutting-edge research being conducted, please visit the Columbia Business School.
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