In 2020, it was all the rage for corporations to pledge their allegiance to diversity and inclusion.
It’s tempting to paint an us-versus-them or them-versus-them picture: the DEI backpedalers versusthe DEI warriors.
“What has changed is there’s a cloud of ambiguity as to what is lawful.”
They’re afraid to put a target on their backs, legal or otherwise.
Despite some of the attention-grabbing headlines, this might be how DEI really dies quietly, in the shadows.
General Motors, for example, cut the DEI section of its annual report.
In its 2024 report, that section was gone.
Mondelez International scrapped its section dedicated to diversity and inclusion in its workforce.
The section is now named “collaborative culture.”
Some firms are taking a subtler approach.
Anew analysis by NPRthis year found that several companies were axing references to DEI altogether.
Now, Trump 2.0 has sent many of them into a silent panic mode.
The crusade is clearly having a chilling effect across the business community.
Many government contractors are public companies.
It instructs federal agencies to identify up to nine potential civil compliance investigations of private companies.
The chaos and confusion is part of the point.
The law’s interpretation and enforcement, however, have clearly undergone a reversal.
“Now we’re waiting to see exactly what comes out of the president’s executive order.”
Just because companies quietly disappear mentions of their DEI policies doesn’t mean the work can’t continue.
They can practice without preaching, and many will.
“Many initiatives weren’t always measurable,” Jones said.
“There were a lot of public commitments without really thinking through how they were measured and implemented.”
“They’re governed by social media,” Taylor said.
“They’re governed by who was last yelling at them.”
A few years ago, companies were worried about the progressive backlash.
Now they’re worried about the conservative one.
“So moving silently or slowly is the strategy that a lot of them are choosing.”
The strategy is not a foolproof one.
Hiding doesn’t mean you won’t be found.
Emily Stewartis a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.
