We may have said goodbye to 2024, but it threw up a big question and those in the recruitment space will continue to look for answers through 2025: Is DEI another face of racism? CEOs who practice diversity, equity, and inclusivity are now fighting allegations of reverse discrimination. To make the workplace a truly democratic space, we not only need to define DEI efforts, but also clarify what DEI is not.
DE & I stand for diversity, equity, and inclusion. They are additional criteria applied during the hiring process, once qualifications, skills, and experience, which together make up “merit,” are established.
A good CHRO who strives to have diverse employees will not only try to strike a balance between age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity, race, ethnicity, nationality, and location but will also create a work environment that supports, nurtures, and cherishes them.
This means equity – equal opportunities, fair treatment, and access to resources, all of which necessitate differentiated support for some to enable them to perform their duties better, irrespective of their background. It also means inclusion – made to feel welcome, respected, cared for, and valued, despite differences. Everyone should have a feeling of “belonging” to the organization.
DEI is not affirmative action, which is legally mandated preferential treatment as a remedial action to correct historical wrongs.
It is not just equal employment opportunity (EEO), a legally enunciated policy to ensure a level playing field as protection against discriminatory practices, including harassment and retaliation.
DEI & B builds upon both affirmative action and EEO for a holistic, long-term, and voluntary commitment to enable a cultural shift in traditional organizations. ‘B’ of course means “belonging” – a positive employee experience that implies acceptance, acknowledgment, and authenticity.
Where is the scope for misunderstanding this effort to ensure fairness in American society?
Understanding the DEI Changes
After George Floyd’s murder in 2020, corporate America rushed to incorporate DEI, with each company rolling out its own DEI strategy. Most were loud and vocal. Now, many of them are fine-tuning their approach after feedback or reviews. They are starting to choose impact over optics, as hostile actors vitiate overly publicized DEI efforts.
Indeed, some of the changes made are in response to Right-wing activism, the election of Donald Trump as president (his 2024 campaign promise was to “eradicate both public and private DEI policies and he has already signed an executive order (EO) ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing), and a backlash from Conservative consumers. Most importantly, the 2003 US Supreme Court ruling that struck down race as a determining factor for university admissions prompted the private sector to re-evaluate risky and safe forms of DEI.
Robby Starbucks, a social media agitator, has dubbed these corrective and evolutionary DEI changes “rollbacks.”
Nevertheless, the DEI cutbacks we are witnessing are too widespread to ignore.
State governments and universities, including Alabama, Iowa, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Indiana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Kansas have either passed anti-DEI laws, banned DEI offices, ended DEI programs, prohibited diversity statements, or restricted DEI training projects.
Organizations Capitulating Under Stress
Large corporations are embroiled in controversies over their DEI policies, dragged to court over law violations, and trolled on social media. Some have toned down their efforts in light of political pressure and online DEI negativism. Others are playing it quiet until the heat dies down and there is clarity on the regulatory and legal aspects.
Harley-Davidson: Stopped DEI function in April 2024, and no longer has hiring quotas or spending goals for diverse suppliers.
Tractor Supply Company: Eliminated DEI roles and retired current DEI goals in June 2024, while ensuring a respectful environment.
John Deere: Announced in July 2024, that diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been company policy
Lowe’s: Stopped DEI programs in August 2023, including participation in community events such as parades, festivals, or fairs.
Walmart: Stopped selling LGBTQ items on its website in November 2024 and closed down a nonprofit started in 2020 with a five-year pledge to combat systemic racism.
Other companies, including Ford Motor Company, Brown Forman Corp., Caterpillar, Molson Coors, and American Airlines, have also soft-pedaled DEI programs, rebranded them, or withdrawn from surveys. Mainly, the Corporate Equality Index by The Human Rights Campaign, a benchmarking tool that measures policies, practices, and benefits affecting LGBTQ+ employees’ experience at work.
What is Provoking the Changes?
In addition to the anti-woke protests and public relations challenges, other reasons why DEI is seeing changes in implementation are:
- DEI strategies were not thought through, and some initiatives were seen as tokenism
- DEI programs lacked clear definitions and measurable outcomes
- DEI goals became cumbersome to achieve due to the financial downturn
- DEI plans were impeded by systemic inertia and unconscious bias in workplaces
- DEI concepts were misunderstood and needed to be fortified with “belonging.”
Amidst the confusion, the Society for Human Resource Management, a global HR association, decided to drop the E for equity as the term attracts different interpretations, ranging from pay equity to broader social equity, and “the contentious and ambiguous nature of equity distracts from the organizational goals.” While equality means treating everyone equally, equity means providing the necessary support to some employees to level the playing field.
Business personalities, Elon Musk and Alexandr Wang– replacing diversity with merit. This confounded the issue further because “diversity” essentially means those with skills are not overlooked in recruitment or retention due to race, class, color, gender, or other identity-related attributes.
Unfortunately, diverse hiring and career progression are misinterpreted as hiring people or promoting them based on their identity traits alone. Such a misunderstanding has led to the fear of reverse discrimination (meaning members of the majority are adversely affected).
There is perceived DEI overreach as well, as when NASDAQ mandated diversity information disclosure from listed companies—a rule that was struck down by the courts by the end of 2024.
How to Weather the DEI Political Pushback?
Despite the politically charged rhetoric, the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals surveyed 125 corporations in the US in August 2024 and found that 96% of C-suite executives remain steadfast in their support for diversity initiatives.
Most Fortune 500 companies continue to host DEI commitments on their websites. They provide evidence of DEI practices in SEC filings, job postings, and annual reports.
Some Major Companies still support DEI
A Boston Consulting Group survey of 27,000 employees in 16 countries found that DEI initiatives boost financial performance, attract talent from a more diverse pool, slash attrition risk by 50%, and increase motivation and happiness in employees.
Notwithstanding another EO titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, and immediate scaling back of DEI programs by heavyweights like Meta, KPMG, Boeing, MDonald’s, Google, and Citigroup, it is likely that Corporate America will recalibrate their efforts in time.
Apple CEO Tim Cook has stood his ground that “Diversity is essential to innovation and business success. ” Shareholders voted to keep the tech giant’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies on Tuesday, stymying efforts by a conservative group to scrap the program. Cook said, “Strength has always come from hiring the very best people and then providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate.”
Earlier in January, Costco Wholesale rejected a similar proposal. “We owe our success to the more than 300,000 employees who serve our members every day. It is important that they all feel included and appreciated and that they transmit these values to our customers,” Costco Chairman Hamilton “Tony” James said.
JP Morgan & Chase chairman and CEO, Jamie Dimon, has stressed: “We’re still going to reach out to the Black, Hispanic, LGBT, veteran, disabled communities. That, we’re not changing.”
And CISCO CEO, Chuck Robbins, has said, “You cannot argue with the fact that a diverse workforce is better…in reality, DEI is made up of 150 different things, and maybe seven of them got a little out of hand,” he said. “I think those six or seven things are going to get solved, and then you’re going to be left with common sense.”
In 2025, as organizations graduate to higher DEI maturity levels, they will prefer to talk less and use couched language when they do mention DEI plans. I expect them to engage in a stringent legal review of DEI-related policies they may have put in place.
Inclusivity Initiative Plan for 2025
I have always vouched for inclusivity, and I believe that while “diversity is a fact, inclusion is an act.” Here is a short inclusivity action plan for 2025, in the remainder of Q1 and Q2:
- Create an intentional approach to inclusivity – collectively. While leading from the front is important, involve all.
- Encourage workplace conversations and anonymous surveys to assess the success of your efforts to advance equality.
- Watch out for inclusivity fatigue and pushback due to employee skepticism. Put in place an escalation mechanism to address complaints of discrimination, bias, and harassment.
- Encourage voluntary employee resource groups and rotating team setups to optimize communication
- Design an embrace-all business strategy, setting goals that go beyond a standalone compliance checklist.
- Collaborate with comprehensive technology platforms to assist workplace processes and recruitment
- Widen the circle of influence –suppliers, vendors, customers, investors, shareholders, and industry associations.
- Make your product and service inclusive –be it in marketing, product packaging, or pricing models.
- Publish annual reports on your workplace inclusivity goals.
- Make inclusion pervasive and not just an HR fad.
One Response
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