DEI transitions: Adapting to hurdles in the US context

In Union County, South Carolina, the formerly prosperous cotton mills that once employed numerous residents have vanished. Today, the county is labeled a “food desert,” indicating that a significant portion of its inhabitants reside at a distance from the closest supermarket. Addressing this challenge, community non-profit leader Elise Ashby initiated efforts in 2016, working alongside farmers to deliver affordable boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables across the county, where roughly 30% of the citizens are Black and nearly 25% experience poverty.

Initially, Ms. Ashby funded the initiative with her personal savings and small grants. However, in 2023, her efforts received a significant boost when the Walmart Foundation—the philanthropic branch of one of the nation’s largest corporations—granted her organization over $100,000 (£80,000). This funding was part of a broader $1.5 million initiative aimed at supporting “community-based non-profits led by people of color.”

“It moved me to tears,” she confessed. “It was one of those instances where you understand that someone genuinely recognizes and appreciates your efforts.”

Only two years prior, initiatives like this received widespread support from leading corporations throughout the United States, as the nation grappled with systemic racism after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, a Black individual who lost his life beneath the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis.

Yet, several of these companies are now withdrawing from those pledges. In November, Walmart revealed it would end certain diversity programs, including the closure of its Center for Racial Equity, which had played a key role in providing Ms. Ashby’s grant.

Firms like Meta, Google, Goldman Sachs, and McDonald’s have undertaken comparable actions, highlighting a more extensive corporate retraction from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

This shift marks a notable cultural change, driven in part by fears of legal challenges, regulatory scrutiny, and social media backlash—pressures exacerbated by the new U.S. president.

Since taking office in January, Donald Trump has actively sought to dismantle DEI programs, pushing for a shift back to “merit-based opportunity” in the U.S. He has directed the federal government to eliminate DEI initiatives and begin investigations into private companies and academic institutions suspected of “illegal DEI practices.”

During the initial months of his second term, the Department of Veterans Affairs shut down its DEI offices, the Environmental Protection Agency put almost 200 civil rights staff on paid leave, and Trump replaced the nation’s top military general—a Black man—after his defense secretary had previously implied he should be dismissed due to his ties with “woke” DEI policies.

At first glance, it may seem that the U.S. has abandoned efforts to improve outcomes for historically marginalized racial and identity groups. However, some experts suggest these initiatives may persist, albeit under different names that align more closely with the shifting political climate of a nation that has just elected a leader committed to combating “woke” policies.

The Roots of the Backlash

Programs resembling DEI first gained traction in the U.S. during the 1960s as a response to the civil rights movement, which aimed to broaden and safeguard the rights of Black Americans.

Originally termed as “affirmative action” and “equal opportunity,” these initiatives were designed to address the enduring effects of slavery and the institutionalized discrimination imposed by Jim Crow laws.

As social justice movements expanded to include women’s rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and racial and ethnic diversity, the language describing these efforts widened to incorporate “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion.”

Within corporations and government agencies, DEI efforts largely focused on hiring policies that framed diversity as an economic advantage. Advocates argue that such programs address disparities across various communities, though much of the emphasis has historically been on racial equity.

The push for DEI gained momentum in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests and escalating calls for social change. Walmart, for example, committed $100 million over five years to create its Center for Racial Equity. Wells Fargo hired its inaugural chief diversity officer, while firms like Google and Nike already had similar leadership positions established. After these developments, S&P 100 companies generated more than 300,000 new jobs, with 94% filled by people of color, as reported by Bloomberg.

Nonetheless, as rapidly as these initiatives grew, a conservative backlash arose.

Stefan Padfield, executive director of the conservative think tank National Center for Public Policy Research, contends that DEI programs inherently separate individuals based on racial and gender lines.

In recent times, critics have amplified claims that DEI efforts—initially intended to fight discrimination—are themselves discriminatory, especially against white Americans. Training workshops that emphasize “white privilege” and systemic racial bias have faced significant criticism.

This opposition originates from conservative pushback against critical race theory (CRT), an academic approach proposing that racism is intricately woven into American society. Over time, movements opposing CRT in educational settings transformed into broader endeavors to punish “woke corporations.”

Social media accounts like End Wokeness and conservative personalities like Robby Starbuck have leveraged this sentiment, focusing on corporations for their DEI efforts. Starbuck has asserted accountability for policy changes at firms like Ford, John Deere, and Harley-Davidson after highlighting their DEI programs to his digital audiences.

One of the most visible victories for this movement came in spring 2023, when Bud Light faced widespread backlash for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Calls to boycott the brand and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch, resulted in a 28% decline in Bud Light sales, according to a Harvard Business Review analysis.

Another significant milestone came in June 2023, when the Supreme Court decreed that race could no longer be a consideration in university admissions, effectively dismantling decades of affirmative action policies.

This verdict questioned the legality of corporate DEI policies. In the wake of the ruling, Meta notified its employees that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding DEI has shifted,” shortly before revealing the discontinuation of its own DEI programs.

Corporate Withdrawal: A Matter of Authenticity

The swift reversal of DEI programs by major corporations prompts questions about the genuineness of their pledges to workforce diversity.

Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital—a non-profit that surveys Americans on workplace issues—believes that many companies initially embraced DEI efforts to “look good” in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, rather than out of genuine commitment to change.

Nonetheless, not every company is succumbing to political and legal pressure. A report by the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation remarked that although DEI programs seem to be waning, “nearly all” Fortune 500 companies still incorporate DEI commitments within their official statements. Moreover, Apple shareholders recently voted to uphold the company’s diversity efforts.

Public sentiment on DEI is split. A survey by JUST Capital indicates that backing for DEI has diminished, but support for related matters—such as equitable pay—remains robust. In parallel, a 2023 Pew Research Center survey discovered that a majority (56%) of working adults still perceive workplace DEI efforts as advantageous.