The bottom-line objective of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council is to bring people together, to do business in new and profitable ways. We certify small businesses owned by ethnic minorities in Georgia, help them to become the best possible version of themselves, and then facilitate introductions to corporate supply chains and governmental entities in search of their goods and services. In essence, we’re a high-level matchmaker of people, products and companies who may not have encountered one another but for the Council’s intervention. It’s a simple concept, really, as we help both parties to the transaction to meet their respective goals. As we approach 50 years of service to Georgia’s business community, this ‘simple’ concept now resembles the relationship status on a social media profile – ‘It’s complicated.’ The very concept of Supplier Diversity, a fundamental business imperative since the 1970s, has been threatened by a political rogue wave now washing up on our shores. The question is, ‘Why?’
Progressive, forward-thinking corporations – many of them headquartered right here in Atlanta – were at the forefront of the Supplier Diversity movement nearly sixty years ago. Some saw their customer bases becoming more diverse, and felt it was necessary to ‘do business with those who do business with us.’ Others took a more philanthropic approach, seeing the availability of business opportunities as a way to lift the fortunes of historically disadvantaged communities, such as ethnic minorities, women, veterans and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. There was a groundswell of energy around ‘doing the right thing’ for the nation’s communities and cultures. Leaders in government, whose activities and investments are funded by tax dollars, felt a mandate to spend those public dollars across the entire spectrum of the citizens who paid the taxes. The movement was driven by a compelling mutual interest in fairness, openness and equitable access.
Cultural, political and population shifts in the American landscape now threaten to topple what had become well-established principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in American business. Recent years have seen a barrage of divisive litigation, legislation, partisan politics, and even violence aimed at reversing progress on the fundamentally American concept that everyone deserves a fair shot at success. As adversaries in a high-stakes tussle for control of our government clash, the casualties are proven, highly effective and longstanding policies that help everyday Americans to prosper.
While opinions are many and vary widely depending on perspective, the one truth that cannot be challenged, and for which there is no argument to the contrary, is the math. What opponents of DEI did not plan on in their rush to eliminate Affirmative Action and essentially all decision-making that considers race, standing, gender and discriminatory history is this…DEI in general (and Supplier Diversity in specific) is good for the bottom line. Companies committed to Diversity and Inclusion as business practices are more profitable. History has proven that human diversity engenders diversity of thought, perspective and approach that brings new ideas to the table, increases a company’s speed to market with new concepts, and ultimately results in increased revenues and dividends to shareholders. Everybody wins with DEI, so why the onslaught of lawsuits and criticism?
The answers to that question are both lengthy and complex, so we won’t parse them here (perhaps in another segment down the road), but the simple takeaway from the war on DEI is that ‘the math is not adding up,’ on any level. Companies that pull back from their diversity commitments due to political or other non-market pressures are leaving money on the table, pure and simple. We encourage our corporate partners, whose unwavering support is the lifeblood of the GMSDC, to approach future decision from a holistic perspective. A simple, objective analysis of the numbers always arrives at the same conclusion – for every dollar spent on DEI programming like Diverse Supplier Inclusion, there is a positive Return on Investment. Isn’t that why we are in business in the first place?
