US businesses need new ways of diversifying their workforce amid the dropping of diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the country, according to Fawn Weaver, the CEO of spirits group Uncle Nearest.
Speaking to Just Drinks during an interview in London, Weaver said: “I think that companies have to figure out how to diversify without having programmes that require it because that’s where we’re headed.
“What's happening with DEI… is it really is DE, there's not the I, because, by virtue of the way the programmes are set up, you leave white men out. Well, you can't have full inclusion if you are excluding a portion of the population and so now that portion of the population is pushing back and saying, ‘Hey, this isn’t inclusion. You didn't include us.' They got a point.”
She added: “The question becomes: how do we expand DEI so that it includes geography, it includes socioeconomic status? How do we expand it so that people who haven't benefited because of the colour of their skin are now not being disadvantaged because of the colour of their skin?
“That's really what the fight is about and I think that both sides have to compromise in order to create a solution that works”.
Weaver’s comments came as two drinks giants scrapped some of their DEI-linked programmes in the US in recent weeks.
In August, Brown-Forman stepped away from its diversity and inclusion policies and ended participation in an LGBTQ corporate equality index.
An email sent out by Brown-Forman’s executive leadership team was shared on X by US conservative activist Robby Starbuck, in which the group said it was making changes to its policies to “account for the ever-changing landscape”.
Last week, brewing major Molson Coors also said it would be changing aspects of its DEI programmes to support a “broader view in which all employees know they are welcome”.
A staff memo sent by the company said its “previous DEI-based training programmes” were complete, with all US staff having participated. The Blue Moon brewer added it was developing “the next evolution of our company trainings, focused on growth for our business and a strong workplace where everyone can thrive”.
Molson Coors also said it had dropped a goal on supplier diversity, adding it would no longer take part in the Human Rights Campaign’s corporate rankings and would stop connecting executive compensation to staff representation.
The ditching of DEI policies is happening across a number of industries in the US, with motor groups Ford and Harley Davidson, home improvement retail chain Lowe’s and tractor business John Deere all cutting back initiatives.
“I think right now we're going find out whose DEI efforts were for press purposes and whose DEI efforts were real”, Weaver said.
