Topics / Education, work and society
Should diversity quotas or targets be used in hiring and boards?
Whether employers and boards should use diversity quotas or targets, and if so whether they should be binding or voluntary, is mainly a disagreement about how to weigh fairness to individual candidates against correcting unequal group outcomes. It also involves contested evidence about what such measures achieve.
Positions
- Yes: Organisations should use diversity targets and, where progress stalls, binding quotas. Persistent bias keeps capable people out, and widening who gets selected makes appointments fairer and draws on a larger pool of talent.
- Targets, not quotas: Organisations should measure and publicly report the diversity of their workforce and boards and set voluntary, aspirational targets, but should not be bound by fixed quotas. Transparency and accountability drive real change while each appointment stays open to the best candidate.
- No: Hiring and board appointments should be made on individual merit alone. Quotas and numerical targets treat people as members of groups, are unfair to the individuals passed over, and can undermine the very people they aim to help.