Horsford, Beatty, Meeks, Al Green and Cleaver Question Bill Ackman’s Claims DEI Efforts Are “Harmful”
January 12, 2024
WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) led a letter with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, Congressman Al Green, Congressman Gregory Meeks and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, questioning claims by the Founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, Bill Ackman, that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are harmful to their company’s employees and investors. They have requested Pershing Square provide the company’s diversity data by January 19, 2024.
In the letter, the Members state:
“We believe that Pershing Square’s diversity data is probative of your genuine goals, as these figures demonstrate actions, not words. It is our belief that there will be a strong correlation between your personal desire to dismantle diversity efforts and your company’s actual workforce diversity numbers. We are eager to see the trends in diversity at Pershing Square over the years, and the extent to which all groups are represented at your firm. Specifically, we request data disaggregated by race and gender of your mid-level staff and executive leadership.”
Following the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, many major U.S. corporations pledged more than $50 billion towards addressing racial inequities across the country, and committed to strengthening their company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Now, more than three years later, and in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling ending affirmative action on college campuses, conservative efforts have turned their focus to corporate DEI initiatives designed to close the gap in equity and opportunity created by decades if not centuries of policies that shut out and barred specific populations.
Ackman’s aggressive assault on diversity is a troubling sign that some in corporate America may be rolling back DEI efforts to the detriment of their employees and customers Since the Supreme Court ruling, more than a dozen conservative attorneys generals have issued letters threatening legal action for corporations’ diversity initiatives. A federal judge in Tennessee struck down a provision in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development program, which threatens billions in government contracting dollars for historically disadvantaged groups.
A full copy of the letter can be found HERE.