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DE&I: More Important than Ever in Times of Crisis

Gertie Find Laerkholm Asger Thomsen Trine de Nully Sarah Miegroet Louise Arild Christine Mering Frederik Laustsen

During economic crises, businesses often focus on short-term priorities such as cost efficiencies. In the face of global economic uncertainty, a potential shift in company priorities may result in lost momentum on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) agenda, potentially leading to multiyear setbacks on DE&I.

In fact, 7 out of 10 DE&I leaders among large Danish companies expect a potential economic downturn to negatively affect DE&I in their company, resulting from, e.g., reduced DE&I budgets and less executive focus. In addition, redundancies that are often induced by a period of recession are evidenced to disproportionately affect women, potentially compounding any existing gender inequalities.

DE&I should never be viewed as an “optional” topic for companies, but rather a business imperative, having been linked to better financial performance and competitive advantage.