Companies are shutting down diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs? Well, I say “sod it, let them.”
Since President Trump’s executive order on January 20, 2025, mandating the termination of all federal DEI programs, several major corporations, including Target, Meta, Walmart, and McDonald’s, also scaled back or ended their DEI efforts due to “political pressure” and “policy changes”.
Well, a quick check-in–
Do we care that these organisations will lose great staff, the benefits of diversity, and therefore their core ability to innovate and succeed? Not really.
Consider this a call to action, for the global, diversity-led companies, the cultural champions. Double down! Hire diverse teams because you know it drives innovation, profitability, and sustainability.
The fact is that some DEI efforts were performative — adopted out of pressure rather than genuine commitment. If you are wondering which were performative? Look to Meta, Walmart, and McDonald’s and ask yourself why it is so easy for them to put their DEI programs under the knife. It is easy for them to shut them down because they have not made DEI a part of their principles and their culture, DEI has not been embedded in their leadership teams, not become business as usual.
Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk. Pick up the slack and continue your journey to hire diversity because you know it helps you become more profitable and more sustainable and makes you more money in the long run!
What a terrific opportunity for all organisations to show their true colours! For those who lead in making DEI part of their cultural lifeblood to win!
We don’t need DEI programs to be DEI companies.
PROGRAMS THROUGH TIME
Consider the workers’ unions, digitalisation and other initiatives that had their time but gratefully have started to become obsolete and considered business as usual these days.
WORKERS UNIONS
We needed workers’ unions back in the day because they:
- Fought for fair wages
- Safe working conditions
- Reasonable hours
- Protection against exploitation
They gave workers a voice to challenge corporate power and improve labour rights. Now we have these rights as a matter of course in many Western countries and I am grateful for the unions that drove that change.
Meanwhile, I think they have outlived their usefulness and should be disbanded in major organisations, as they have lost their ethical ground in some cases and become a money grab. They are institutions that no longer serve the workers in their care, but the corporation and their management teams (…but debate that thought another time!)
DIGITILISATION DIVISONS
We needed digitalisation divisions when technology became prevalent to:
- Navigate the shift from analog to digital processes efficiently.
- Integrate new technologies consistently across organizations.
- Establish protocols for data security and compliance.
- Upskill and adapt to rapidly evolving digital tools.
But then we quickly realised that digital was not just one division but was needed as par for the course in every division every single day. The need for digital fluency, adaptive and agile innovation, as well as the introduction of self-sustaining automation, made separate divisions focused on digitisation redundant. Sure some companies are still fighting this shift (…but again a debate for another time!)
DEI PROGRAMS
We needed (need) DEI programs because they help –
- Address systemic inequalities by removing barriers that marginalized groups face in workplaces and institutions.
- Create fair and inclusive work environments, where employees feel valued, respected, and empowered to contribute fully.
- Help remove systemic barriers and unconscious bias in hiring and promotion practices, driving equity in practices.
- Give everyone an equal opportunity for employment and financial security
They have brought attention to inequity and inequality in our workplaces and improved equal access to opportunity. Companies serious about DEI go beyond one-time training sessions and hiring quotas, but rather embed DEI principles into policies, hiring, leadership training, and their culture.
DEI shouldn’t be a program, it should be part of your DNA.
DEI BENEFITS
Having said that, the DEI programs led to a plethora of studies and statistics that if we are intelligent human beings and organisations, which I hope we are, we simply cannot ignore.
By embracing DEI initiatives we have proven that diversity leads to:
- 62% likelihood of financial outperformance. (overall representation)
- 25% more likely to have increased profitability. (executive teams)
- The top quartile are 33% more likely to outperform on profitability than those in the bottom quartile. (ethnic diversity)
- An operating profit margin that is 12.6 percentage points higher than competitors. (management teams)
- An operating margin that is 5.7 percentage points higher than their competitors. (management teams)
- Globally diverse boards are 43% more likely to experience higher profits. (boards)
It is clear across every level of the hierarchy!
The data is crystal clear: diversity wins.
If we know that and it has been proven over decades…. Are we really going to let a few DEI initiatives shutting down, stop us from doing what makes sense for the organisation, for profit, for people, and for the world?
And it doesn’t stop there…
- Diverse teams bring different perspectives, leading to better decision-making and increased creativity.
- Appeal to a broader talent pool and experience higher employee satisfaction.
- Diversity Initiatives help reach corporate social responsibility goals.
Some organisations have naturally become more diverse, reducing the need for formal DEI structures. Inclusive hiring, leadership development, and equity initiatives are becoming embedded in standard operations. In fact, their new focus is broader employee well-being and performance initiatives.
It’s not just ethical, it’s smart business.
WAGE PARITY
Do we have a long way to go still when it comes to DEI? Of course, wage parity alone remains alarming and unbelievably dire, as we seem to be moving backwards of late.
Wage parity will take until:
2059 to reach full pay equity between women and men who work full-time, year-round
2133 for black women to reach wage parity
2206 for Hispanic women to reach wage parity.
The World Economic Forum estimates it will take 268 years to close the economic gender gap and as of 2023, the gender pay gap widened for the first time in 20 years, with women earning 83 cents on the dollar compared to men, down from 84 cents in 2022!
We don’t need a “program” to tell us what’s right. We need action, commitment, and a fundamental shift in how we approach diversity, equity, and inclusion.
DEI IS WHO WE ARE
Have we made extraordinary progress? –Yes.
Do we still have a long way to go? –Yes.
Do we need a DEI program to tell us we need a more equitable workforce? –I sure hope not.
Do I want the organisation that still supports DEI to win? –Abso-f*cking-lutely!
But we don’t need a DEI program to tell us what’s right. We need action, commitment, and a fundamental shift in how we approach diversity, equity, and inclusion. And I’m betting on the companies that get it right.
Make this your job search criteria, partnership and collaboration criteria moving forward. Check-in on the company’s commitment to DEI. Do they still have a program? Is it part of their DNA? If so, then they are the companies that will win in the future.
Inclusive innovation is only possible with cognitive diversity–differing perspectives and DEI. These are the companies that will be more creative and more sustainable….and I truly believe those are the companies that will win.
