# Why U.S. Corporations Need To Promote Greater Workplace Diversity.

1 Opinion September 12, 2024 Forbes ![Michael Posner](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/assets/images/con_046658.jpg?itok=t24nqftK)By Michael Posner

>

Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-based affirmative admissions policies at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. While most colleges and universities have yet to disclose their 2024 admission profiles, early returns from a few schools, notably MIT and Amherst, suggest that the court ruling is leading to the admission of fewer Black and Hispanic students. At the same time, the decision is being used by critics of corporate diversity programs to undermine these programs in the business world.

Less than a month after the Supreme Court decision, the attorneys general of 13 US states wrote to the heads of the 100 largest U.S. companies. The letter called on the companies to end “any unlawful race-based quotas or preferences.” It warned corporate leaders that if they ignored this demand, “you will be held accountable— sooner rather than later—for your decision.”

These and other states have also rushed to adopt legislation targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public institutions. At least 84 anti-DEI bills have been introduced in 28 states, 12 of which have become law; another 13 have received final legislative approval.

Read the full [*Forbes* article](https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelposner/2024/09/12/why-us-corporations-need-to-promote-greater-workplace-diversity/).
\_\_\_
*Michael Posner is the Jerome Kohlberg Professor of Ethics and Finance, Professor of Business and Society and Director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights.*

## More from Michael Posner

- [America At 250: The Quiet Assault On Civil Society.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/america-250-quiet-assault-civil-society)
- [At The Vatican, Global Leaders Grapple With AI’s Moral Stakes.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/vatican-global-leaders-grapple-ais-moral-stakes)
- [It's Time to Regulate Frontier AI the Way We Regulate Drugs.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/its-time-regulate-frontier-ai-way-we-regulate-drugs)
- [Lafarge: The Cost Of Complicity](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/lafarge-cost-complicity)
- [Microsoft’s Anthropic Brief Is About More Than AI — It’s About Democracy.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/opinion/microsofts-anthropic-brief-about-more-ai-its-about-democracy)