July 4, 2016
Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev, in their article "Why Diversity Programs Fail" (Harvard Business Review, July-August 2016), discuss their research analyzing data from 829 firms over three decades. Their research found that the programs and tools used by businesses to reduce bias – diversity training, hiring tests, performance ratings, grievance systems – tend to make things worse not better. The authors discuss why, and how businesses should proceed instead.