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Last Monday, as the newly sworn in President, Donald Trump published The American government would now only accept two men, a man and a woman, a victory for corporate diversity that was loudly applauded in Davos.
It was directed at a manager who had just told an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum about a transgender worker who had long dreamed of adopting a baby girl and buying a house for her mother.
“A couple of months ago, he texted me and said, ‘I’ve done both,'” said the manager, apparently excited about the opportunities women now have at a company that is trying to make its employees are diverse and inclusive.
The name of this rising star in the business? Priya Agarwal Hebbar, chairman of Indian mining company Hindustan Zinc and a non-executive director at Vedanta mining and energy conglomerate founded by her father, Anil Agarwal.
For the avoidance of doubt, the idea of a retired mining executive sounds like Trump taking up yoga.
Hebbar was not the only leader in Davos to make it clear that Maga’s vision of business life will be rejected by boardrooms that have found the diversity and environmental measures they have adopted in recent years make financial sense.
“We will not change course,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with the FT at the Alpine conference. “We think that building a diverse, global workforce that considers all aspects of the business is a good thing, it’s just good business.”
Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet said quickly: “It would be weird not to represent the customers we serve, and we serve a lot of different customers.”
Yet Davos also reflected on Trump’s war on what he later called “absolutely “absurdity” of DEI’s “discrimination” measures cannot be ignored. I have not heard a single chief executive at the World Economic Forum meeting use language as harsh as Trump’s. But the president’s pledge to make America “a nation based on values” stood out.
“We need to create an environment where people feel included and it needs to be a meritocracy where everyone has a chance to succeed,” Rich Lesser, global chairman of the Boston Consulting Group, said. one forum event.
Trump’s approach could prompt other business leaders to follow Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart and other large American corporations that have already scaled back their DEI programs during Trump’s return.
And it’s easy to imagine that administrators who want to end work-from-home policies may be motivated to act after Trump’s day. one order for government workers to return to their offices five days a week.
But things are more complicated when it comes to Trump’s refueling efforts.
Wall Street banks have already pulled out of full-fledged alliances after Trump’s re-election, prompting speculation in Davos that the future of the banking sector is they may not be pleasant.
And several executives have said privately they may be talking less about saving the planet and more about “getting serious” about strengthening when it comes to their climate work.
However, 40 major authorities have gathered in the Swiss ski town to promote their initiatives that support and protect nature. “That suggests there is another side to the ESG story,” said Jack Hurd, head of nature at the World Economic Forum.
And some leaders say years of experience have shown the financial wisdom of carbon-cutting measures.
“There is a huge benefit from an economic point of view,” Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka Group, Ikea’s main supplier, told me as Davos drew to a close.
Reducing emissions from supply chains and operations focused on resources and costs helped Ingka’s revenue grow by 24 percent since 2016, while carbon emissions fell by 30 percent.
Andrew Forrest, an Australian billionaire who is determined to turn his Fortescue iron ore mining group into a showcase of green industry, had a similar story. Although only a third of the way through his decarbonisation plans, he said the economic case for it was clear.
Companies that jumped on the anti-ESG bandwagon and said, “Let’s go full speed ahead, clear the rocks,” he said. “You’re going to be like the Titanic because the weather doesn’t care about our politics, and it’s getting worse.”
