According to LinkedIn data, the number of Chief Diversity Officers hired between 2015 and 2020 grew by 107%. The peak of that wave seems to have come in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020 as social justice movements put an increasing amount of pressure on companies to get diversity, equity and inclusion right.
In 2021, however, progress has been slow. Chief Diversity Officers have been on the move with startling regularity, as turnover for the position is now averaging just three years. While many companies have realized that a designated leader needs to be at the head of diversity decisions, it doesn’t necessarily mean companies are setting these CDOs up for success.
Of all the C-suite roles, CDOs spend an inordinate amount of time persuading business partners, teams and leaders of the value that good DEI strategies have for the business — even though numerous studies have already established the benefit of diversity.
