Supplier Diversity – Pros, Cons, Pathways: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity on the Rise

Workshop Presentation
Paul D. Larson,  Jack Kulchitsky  

The workshop explores pros and cons of supplier diversity (SD) from an organizational perspective. Essentially, SD extends workforce or employee diversity (ED) into the upstream supply chain. There is a rich history of SD initiatives, starting in the United States back in the 1960s, inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. Today, DEI programs are under pressure. During his first month back in office, President Trump issued Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” seeking to end DEI programs and offices across the federal government. According to a Fact Sheet from the White House, these executive orders terminate “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) discrimination in the federal workforce, and in federal contracting and spending. This SD workshop draws on theoretical perspectives on diversity; including “zero-sum” vs. “win-win” assumptions, the diversity/unity paradox, and similarity-attraction versus social integration. Workshop participants will have the opportunity to discuss these theoretical perspectives, share their experiences with ED and SD programs, and brainstorm on how to measure ED and SD benefits and challenges. The workshop facilitators will also present selected recent research results on SD pros, cons and pathways. The spirit and intent of SD is to assure that doors of opportunity are open to all suppliers, irrespective of the personal characteristics (i.e. the diversity) of folks who own and manage those supplier firms.