Lawyers and conservative activists are warning of a wave of legal challenges to US companies’ diversity initiatives following the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action in university admission programmes.
Opponents of affirmative action fought for years in the courts to end its use in college admissions. Now that they have won that battle, thanks to the Supreme Court’s newly emboldened 6-3 conservative majority, business groups are worried companies will be the next target, pursued through the courts and through social media pressure campaigns over diversity-driven hiring programmes.
The Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday in the cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard University — which found that considering race in the admissions process was unconstitutional — was immediately embraced by critics who have painted corporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts as part of a “woke capitalism” agenda that distracts companies from focusing on shareholder returns.