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Monday, July 10, 2023

Want a Job at Calvin Klein, Rixo or Birger Christensen?

In this week's Careers Newsletter, read BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young's latest: What the End of Affirmative Action Means for Fashion

For the fashion industry, the Supreme Court's landmark decision to reject affirmative action at colleges and universities is the latest, and potentially most significant, in a monthslong backslide on diversity, equity and inclusion policies and programmes.

In a widely expected decision Thursday, the Supreme Court's six conservative justices effectively prohibited colleges and universities from considering race and ethnicity as a factor in their admissions. Though it only applies directly to US institutions of higher learning — affirmative action policies at Harvard University and University of North Carolina were at the heart of the case — executives at fashion and retail companies expect the ripple effects will extend to their hiring practices and DEI programmes.

States like Florida and Texas have advocated for penalties on companies that mandate DEI training for employees or even just establish DEI departments (both states have already banned both practices at public universities). Anti-LGBTQ extremist groups and conservative politicians led calls to boycott companies that positioned themselves as allies to the trans community, causing some — including Target — to tamp down their Pride celebrations.

For now, companies are reacting more to the potential for a social media blowup than legal threats. But experts say that may change, especially if conservatives emboldened by the ruling mount legal challenges to corporate DEI efforts, including hiring practices meant to boost workforce diversity.

Whether or not those fears are grounded remains to be seen. But even before the ruling, some fashion firms had quietly backed off from investment in DEI efforts, which gained new momentum in the summer of 2020. Experts say there's no single cause for the slowdown, but rather a mix of conservative backlash, frustration over stalled progress and waning enthusiasm from employees and consumers.

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