Glassdoor CEO: The workers are talking about you (whether you like it or not!)

That belief predates the current administration, which has rocketed the war on DEI to one of its top agenda items. Though plenty of companies have publicly disavowed their DEI initiatives other leaders are wondering how to quietly continue building a workforce that reflects their values in this climate. The Heritage Foundation recently reported that 486 of the Fortune 500 mention DEI in some capacity on their websites—which it criticized but workers and customers may actually applaud.

Workers are watching. I recently met with Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong, who has more insight into what workers want from their bosses than most other business leaders in the world. (He was also director of product at LinkedIn earlier in his career.) While leaders may be loath to talk about DEI in this climate, he notes, workers are tracking it and talking about it themselves on platforms like Glassdoor. “Every generation wants more transparency than the one before,” he says. “With Gen Z, there’s greater demand for equity and accountability; they want their companies involved in talking about social issues.”

Glassdoor recently brought on author Adam Grant as a “chief worklife expert.” Sutherland-Wong wants to expand the platform from ratings and salary-sharing to be a village green where people talk about making their work lives and companies better. That includes leaders who are struggling for the right message in this climate.

Rather than speak, Sutherland-Wong’s advice to leaders is that they listen to what’s being said about them in the office and on sites like his. Companies that create paths for all people to succeed, he says, tend to win high scores from workers. “If your career is on the ascent, you feel differently than if your career is stalled and you’re looking for a scapegoat to explain why.”  The companies that rank high on Glassdoor’s “Best Places to Work” index also outperform when it comes to stock price, too, he notes.

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Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady, diane.brady@fortune.com, LinkedIn.

Top news

China vs. Trump. In retaliation for President Trump ordering an additional 10% tariff on all Chinese imports, China imposed new tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. fossil fuels and farm equipment. China is the second-biggest importer of U.S. coal. It also launched an antitrust probe into Google.

Trump wants a “rare earth” deal with Ukraine. In exchange for military aid, Trump wants Ukraine to supply the U.S. with critical minerals for electronics. Kyiv may be ready to deal, if it keeps the U.S. on-side in the war against Russia.

The anti-American alliance. Trump may be “winning” his tariff war but he’s annoying his closest, richest, most peaceful allies in the process. “The collapse of western unity would be a dream come true for Russia and China,” writes Gideon Rachman in the FT.

Trade that excludes the U.S. ramps up. In the last two months the European Union signed free-trade deals with four South American countries, Mexico, and Switzerland, creating a low-tariff trade bloc of 850 million people. Malaysia (pop. 34 million) is in talks to join.

A U.S. sovereign wealth fund to buy TikTok? The president signed an executive order to create an investment vehicle that could acquire the social media platform and other assets. “We’re going to monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

From Fortune

Estée Lauder’s big day
Estée Lauder reports its earnings later today in what will be a make or break moment for the beauty giant that’s lost $100 billion in market cap over the past three years. Fortune’s Phil Wahba explains how a now-unsuccessful push into the Chinese luxury market and failed marketing to younger generations have set the scene for the conglomerate’s freefall. Fortune

In conversation with the BlackRock COO
BlackRock COO Rob Goldstein sat down with Fortune’s Leo Schwartz to describe why Goldstein still describes the financial giant as a “startup” despite its 37-year history. Goldstein credits the company’s ability to constantly roll out new products, like their record-breakin Bitcoin ETF, as the firm’s ace-in-the-hole. Fortune

Warren’s Musk warning
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) warned new Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday that providing Elon Musk’s DOGE organization with access to the Treasury payment system could risk the U.S. defaulting on its debt. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Musk “can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval.” Fortune

The markets

• The S&P 500 closed down 0.8% yesterday after a wild ride triggered by Trump's imposition — and then reversal — of trade tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The index is now back under 6,000 ... Futures contracts on the index were heading down again this morning ... Alphabet sunk 1.4% after China said it would open an antitrust probe into Google ... Asia and Europe are mixed this morning ... Bitcoin is sitting at $98.6K.

Analyst notes

• UBS on Trump: “US President Trump again retreated from imposing aggressive taxes on US consumers. Although taxes on goods from Mexico and Canada are in theory delayed for a month, after three retreats in a row markets are unlikely to take that threat seriously. US consumers would have been visibly affected by these taxes—even Republican senators became aware that tariffs are paid by their constituents and not foreigners, and tweeted pleas for exemptions. … The long-term consequences remain. Foreign countries have less reason to trust that the US will honor trade treaties, reducing the incentive to make concessions,” per Paul Donovan.
• JP Morgan on Trump: “In short, the risk is that the policy mix is tilting (perhaps unintentionally) into a business-unfriendly stance,” per Bruce Kasman.
• Apollo on interest rates vs unicorns: “When interest rates are low, more unicorns are created because it is cheaper for startups to access capital, allowing them to scale faster and reach a billion-dollar valuation. When interest rates are higher for longer, fewer unicorns are created because financing costs are more expensive, and it becomes more difficult for companies to expand.” Torsten Sløk has a chart showing this here.

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