by Peter Cosgrove, MD of Futurewise Ltd.
Daniel Kahneman, the 2002 Nobel prize-winning economist, once described climate change as the ‘perfect problem’—it feels distant, incredibly complex, amorphous, and, most importantly, widely disputed. He highlighted how such problems are extraordinarily difficult to solve. By 2025, this description could also apply to equality, diversity, and inclusion (ED&I)—a long-standing issue where progress remains glacially slow and increasingly disputed.
Last Friday, Facebook/Meta cancelled all of its ED&I programs, with Zuckerberg emphasizing that companies need more ‘masculine energy.’ Elon Musk attributed a near air disaster involving Boeing to ED&I, claiming that safety was deprioritised in favour of diversity efforts. The list of companies aligning with the Trump-inspired anti-woke narrative continues to grow.
What will happen in Europe, where many companies—especially in Ireland—are heavily influenced by their US counterparts? This feels like a watershed moment, it will be fascinating to see how organisations adapt—or resist—the shifting US narrative. Will ED&I start to be de-prioritised?
Another challenge is the overly confident narrative that diversity boosts innovation and profitability. In reality, this is only true when leaders focus on embedding ED&I culturally, rather than relying on one-off projects or superficial training programs.
The good news is that employees now have a stronger voice and seek companies that are fair, equitable, and representative of their communities. Additionally, the rise of remote and flexible work broadens the talent pool for companies willing to embrace diversity in hiring.
While data rarely wins these debates, compelling stories of companies with great cultures tend to prevail. However, while this approach may succeed in the long term, the short-term outlook remains uncertain.
About the author
Peter Cosgrove leads Futurewise and is an expert on future trends and a much sought-after speaker on talks related to the future of work. He has over 25 years business experience on executive teams as well as on not for profit boards as board member and Chairman. He has been Chair of Junior Achievement Ireland, the National Recruitment Federation and currently serves on the 30% Club Steering Committee tackling gender balance and is Vice Chairman of Aware, a leading mental health charity. Peter has served as a Board adviser for a number of Staffing organisations and has been a contributor to the Expert Group on Future Skills.
