The Fortune team is in Atlanta this week for Fortune‘s second annual Workplace Innovation Summit. This is a convening that tackles all the ways workplaces are being transformed right now—the rise of AI agents, the unusual labor market, and attacks on DEI.
On that last topic, one conversation has served as a highlight of the event so far. Dr. Bernice King, CEO of The King Center and daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., weighed in onstage with Fortune‘s Phil Wahba.
Of course, many companies have quietly (or not-so-quietly) abandoned their ERGs or diversity commitments. Here’s what King has to say to them: “If you retreat that quick, it suggests to me that reveals who you really are.” Companies and people who know who they are and know their values “don’t retreat,” she says.
King has some sympathy for institutions that are genuinely in jeopardy, and not just abandoning their principles out of fear—like colleges and universities. The need for federal research funding in higher education raises the question: “How do I make a decision that I can still move forward and practice what DEI represents, but not have the enormous cost of being caught up in litigation?” King asks.
Some other highlights from Workplace Innovation…
Two former chief diversity officers on the continued business value of diversity—but the difficulty for execs with the title who want to get on boards.
Upland Workshop’s Arielle Patrick on the liability issues created by AI notetakers.
Contrarian takes on two hot topics: Indeed’s chief economist Svenja Gudell says sectors most exposed to AI are seeing more growth in job demand. And an Accenture exec says the company is hiring more entry-level workers this year than last year, despite concerns for recent grads in the job market.
Emma Hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
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PARTING WORDS
"I’m okay with an exchange. But stealing isn’t negotiation."
— Cate Blanchett on actors' likenesses being used in AI-generated projects. She cofounded RSL Media, a free public registry that allows anyone to consent, or not, to the use of their likeness.
