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Corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are falling out of fashion as President Donald Trump returns to the White House.
But they’re not totally disappointed, said a public company executive who has pushed for more DEI initiatives at tech companies.
“Personally, I don’t think so,” Nasdaq Chairman and CEO Adena Friedman said on Yahoo Finance Opening offer podcast at World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland (video above; listen below).
Friedman was responding to the question of whether American business had fallen back decades in the middle DEI cancellations in large companies like Meta (META) and Walmart (WMT).
“I can say that for Nasdaq, we are very proud of what we do,” Friedman added. “We’re very happy with the results that we’ve been able to achieve in terms of creating this culture of inclusion and belonging. And I think a lot of companies feel the same way I do, and it’s just going to be a little bit more calm.”
A federal appeals court recently struck down Nasdaq’s attempt to diversify company boards.
In mid-December, a predominantly conservative federal appeals court concluded The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should not have approved Nasdaq rules in 2021.
These rules would have required that the thousands of companies, mainly technology, present on the stock exchange have at least one woman on their board of directors and one person identifying as belonging to a minority or LGBTQ. A business will need to explain why it is unable to meet this requirement. The rules also called for annual disclosure of board diversity.
Additionally, President Trump has pledged to rid the federal government of DEI mandates, while Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg has called for more mandates. masculine energy in business.
“I think being a CEO is a competitive existence. I’m a competitor,” Friedman said.
“But being competitive and having a quiet confidence – they are not antithetical to each other. Having a quiet confidence, being humble, learning, being willing to listen to others, that’s also an essential part of be a successful CEO.”
Friedman is ultimately optimistic about IPO prospects as the Trump administration eases regulations.
The IPO market has been mixed at best in 2024 despite good performance by Reddit (RDDT), the Vikings (VIK), and Rubrik (RBRK). IPOs raised about $123 billion last year, compared to a peak of $594 billion in 2021, according to Dealogic data.
A total of 150 companies went public last year, according to Renaissance Capital. study.
