Essential Questions to Build Your DEI Business Case

As organizations are increasingly challenged to make the business case for DE&I investments, we recommend applying i4cp's proprietary model The People-Productivity Chain to ask key strategic questions to help stakeholders--from company leaders to shareholders--better understand where DE&I integrates and supports various aspects of the business.

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Most companies aren’t slowing down their DE&I initiatives, despite the backlash: 

• Members of the i4cp CDO board say that DE&I is 5x more likely to receive increased budget in 2025 than a decrease in budget.
• 75% of respondents from larger organizations said their company has made progress on stated DE&I goals in the past 18 months. The most cited reasons why are:
  • Leadership buy-in (beyond the CEO)
  • Clear DE&I goals and objectives
  • DE&I is woven into their day-to-day business processes – as opposed to being view as separate, stand-alone initiatives.

Despite the progress, commitment to DE&I hasn’t been without its challenges – predominately:

• Lack of clear – or clearly communicated – objectives, accountability, and metrics tied to outcomes
• Slightly more than 1/3rd of respondents from larger organizations report internal resistance from managers and frontline workers
• 1/3rd or fewer respondents from larger organizations have concerns related to:
  • Potential lawsuits spawning from company DE&I activities
  • Negative media and social media attention that can harm corporate or employer brands
  • Damage to their culture