How Tech Layoffs Are Undercutting DE&I Progress

Layoffs in the tech industry have not been slowing down. On the day that I am writing this, Zoom announced they are laying off 1,300 people… and that’s just one small example. Layoffs.fyi is a website that tracks tech layoffs and they have tallied over 97,500 layoffs at 313 different technology companies in 2023 so far — and it’s only the beginning of February!

If this trend continues, that could mean just under one million jobs would be lost in 2023 which is a number that’s a little hard to fathom. There will be many conversations around this, but one thing I’m hoping we talk more about as a society is the impact these layoffs will have on DE&I. 

What is DE&I?

DE&I is a framework that centers around diversity, equity and inclusion. The goal of a DE&I strategy is to create a culture and environment that promotes equity, specifically for individuals and groups who tend to be disadvantaged or underrepresented in the workplace. This includes people with different abilities, racial backgrounds, sexual orientation, and gender identities.

Employers who put a DE&I strategy in place find that it’s great for business. More diverse companies innovate better (because they benefit from a wider range of perspectives), they understand their customers better, and they make more in revenue. It makes sense that forward-thinking companies would want to go this route.

However, what we’re seeing now with the massive amount of layoffs in the technology sector is that companies with these DE&I initiatives in place are losing serious ground and setting themselves back years on the progress they’ve made so far.

One Example from Twitter

Let’s take a look at Twitter, which is probably the biggest example I can think of in terms of DE&I backsliding. Of course, we’ve all heard about the many layoffs that have happened, but Elon Musk also made the decision to disband Twitter’s internal employee resource groups.

One of these groups, Blackbird, was a highly impactful and beloved resource group designed specifically for Black employees and allies. The accessibility engineering team — the group responsible for making the website easy to use for people with different auditory and visual abilities — was also dissolved.

It’s easy to imagine the impact this change will have on the remaining employees, even if they were not an active member of these groups. Either way, the message is clear: the company no longer wants to distribute resources to issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Who is Being Laid Off?

In addition to the reallocation of resources, it’s important to look at who is being laid off at these tech companies. Harvard Business Review looked at more than 800 companies and found that “organizations experience as much as a 22 percent reduction in Black, Hispanic and Asian men on their management teams when they cut positions rather than evaluate individual workers.”

This is an older study, but it still rings true today – perhaps even moreso. Another thing to watch for is when companies execute layoffs using a "last-hired, first-fired" approach. When this happens, it’s far more likely that people in minority groups will be impacted.

If management positions are being cut, women and minorities are more likely to be laid off since they were probably promoted most recently (probably as a result of DE&I efforts). Entry level positions aren’t safe either. Those positions are typically the most diverse, and are also often the first to be deemed as non-essential.

The Not-So-Sure Future of DE&I

It’s clear that DE&I initiatives work and make an impact in the workplace, but companies in the tech sector aren’t putting enough of a priority on them, especially during these mass layoffs. On the hiring side, things aren’t much better. According to AdAge, new job listings for DE&I roles were down 19% in 2022 and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that number drop more this year.

These companies would be smart to work with a corporate consultant who is knowledgeable in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion. We can’t escape the inevitability of layoffs, but we can make systemic changes so they don’t disproportionately impact one group over another.

Does your workplace have a DE&I framework in place? Let me know in the comments! If you’re not sure, it might be a good thing to ask your human resources department about. If it doesn’t exist yet, consider making a request to implement it. You never know unless you ask!