18.Business and the culture wars（679）

Passage Eighteen

Business and the culture wars

商业与文化战争

【1】How to cut through the cacophony over DEI,What, if anything, should firms do to improve the diversity(variety) of their workforce? After the murder of George Floyd in 2020, many bosses felt compelled to act. Partly out of fear of being called out for prejudice, corporate America rushed to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) schemes.

如何在关于DEI的纷争中保持清醒，企业应该采取什么措施来提高其员工队伍的多样性？2020年乔治·弗洛伊德遇害后，很多公司老板认为必须行动起来了。或许有些担忧被外人打上“偏见”的烙印，美国各大公司纷纷开始采纳“多元、公正、包容”（DEI）机制。

【2】By 2022 three-quarters of the S&P 500 had a chief diversity officer; more than two-fifths of listed firms set targets to increase the racial diversity of their workforce. Now many think the pendulum has swung too far.

截止到2022年，标普500指数中四分之三的公司设立了首席多元化官，超过五分之二的上市公司制定了让员工队伍在种族方面更加多元的目标。如今很多人认为这有些矫枉过正。

【3】The resignation of Claudine Gay, a black woman, as president of Harvard University has ignited(triggered) a broader debate(argue) about merit(talent) and identity. Bill Ackman and Elon Musk, two billionaires, have excoriated(criticized) DEI for itself being discriminatory.

哈佛大学黑人女校长克劳丁·盖伊的辞职引发了关于才能与身份的广泛辩论。亿万富翁比尔·阿克曼和埃隆·马斯克指责DEI机制本身就具歧视性。

【4】After the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to end affirmative action in university admissions last summer, many activists and politicians increasingly have corporate DEI schemes in their sights.

去年夏季美国最高法做出历史性决定，禁止大学录取时实施平权政策。此后很多活动家与政客越发关注公司里的DEI机制。

【5】As America’s culture wars rage on, bosses are being caught in the middle. Progressives argue that DEI enables companies to do their bit to tackle(solve) America’s entrenched inequalities. Conservatives see it as an attack on meritocracy.

随着美国的文化战争愈演愈烈，公司老总们进退维谷。进步派声称DEI机制让各大公司在解决美国根深蒂固的不平的问题方面尽到自己的一份力。保守派视之为对功绩主义选贤举能的攻击。

【6】One side ignores the costs of many DEI schemes, the other ignores the real benefits(advantages) of diversity. How should businesses cut through the noise?

一方忽视了众多DEI机制中的成本问题，另一方则忽略了多元化所具备的真正益处。公司应当如何在争吵声中达到平衡？

【7】The critics are right that the thinking on DEI is muddy(disordered), and that many DEI initiatives(proposes) are ineffective(unfruitful), even harmful. In 2015 McKinsey, a consultancy, identified a positive correlation between the gender and ethnic diversity of the workforce and firms’ profitability.

批评者认为有关DEI机制的想法非常混乱，并且很多DEI倡议实则无效甚至有害。这不无道理。2015年，咨询公司麦肯锡发现，员工性别和种族多元化同公司盈利存在正相关。

【8】Although academics have since criticised its methodology, the findings were breathlessly cited(quoted) by bosses and corporate advisers, and the link was treated as causal and cast-iron.

虽然自那时起麦肯锡公司的调查方法就遭学者批评，但公司负责人和顾问乐此不疲地引述该研究结果，且这一关联被视为互为因果、牢不可破。

【9】For example, from 2023 Nasdaq required firms listed on its stock exchange to have at least one board member who was not a straight white man—or explain why they do not. It was left to Jesse Fried, a professor at Harvard Law School, to point out that Nasdaq was ignoring scholarship which finds that board diversity can have a negative impact on performance.

例如，2023年起，纳斯达克要求其上市公司的董事会至少要有一位非异性恋白人男子，若没有，则要给出解释。哈佛大学法学院教授杰西·弗莱德认为，纳斯达克这一举措忽视了董事会成员多元化对公司经营产生不利影响的相关研究。

【10】Diversity schemes often fail. Sometimes this betrays bad faith: firms with a discrepancy(difference) between their words and actions are often accused(criticized) of “diversity washing”.

多元化机制往往以失败告终。有时这揭露出恶意：人们往往指责言行不一的公司为“多元化洗白”。

【11】Some schemes are well-meant but ineffective. Research by Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev showed that diversity training programmes(projects) fail to reduce bias. In the worst instances(conditions), DEI initiatives backfire.

一些机制的本意是好的，但无法奏效。弗兰克·多宾和亚历山大·卡来福进行的调查显示，多元化培训项目未能减少职场偏见。在最坏的情形下，DEI倡议会适得其反。

【12】Targets can be seen as quotas, which undermine the principle of fair competition and cast a shadow over minorities who do well under them. Other research shows that adding equal-employment statements(explanations) to job advertisements can put minority candidates off applying. No wonder support for votes on social issues at annual general meetings is draining away.

设置的目标会被视为指标配额，有损公平竞争原则，并给在DEI机制下发展良好的少数族裔员工蒙上阴影。其他调查显示，在招聘广告中加入平等入职的说明会让少数族裔求职者望而却步。难怪在年会上对社会问题进行投票的支持度越来越少。

【13】The case for diversity does not need dressing up in pseudoscience. The simple reason for businesses and their shareholders to care about recruiting people from a broad range of backgrounds is that they want the most able people. Mr Musk and Mr Ackman are both successful businessmen: they too want to assemble(organize) the best possible teams.

赞成多元化的原因并不需要用伪科学来包装。公司及其股东想要从天南海北招贤纳士的原因，简单来说就是希望能招到最有能力的人。马斯克和阿克曼二人都是成功的商业家，他们也希望组建尽可能优秀的团队。

【14】Opus DEI diversity should be a spur to looking far and wide for talent, no matter someone’s gender, race or sexual orientation(target). A firm convinced that it is overlooking(ignoring) the best candidates from a particular demographic cohort, for example, could choose to lengthen its shortlists to include more from that group.

多元化应当推动公司更广泛地招贤纳士，不论性别、种族或性取向。比如，若人们认为一家公司会忽略某一特定领域的群体，那么该公司就会在招募名单中纳入更多来自该群体的求职者。

【15】That will not mechanically create workforces that mirror the population, but it can maximise talent and diversity of thought. quotas, by contrast, have the perverse effect of narrowing the search by excluding talent. As with so many areas touched by the culture wars, the row over DEI has become muddle-headed. The clear, simple argument for diversity is being drowned out.

这并非机械化地根据人口结构来组建员工团队，但可以最大限度发挥人才和思想的多元性。相反，采用指标配额排除人才，缩小了招募范围，也将会产生不利影响。同文化战争涉及到的众多领域类似，有关DEI机制的争论已变得混乱，简洁明了的多元化争辩正在消失。