Although the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) backlash may have been mounting in recent years, particularly in the US, it has reached a peak since President Donald Trump took power earlier this year.
Within the first few days of assuming office, the president signed a raft of Executive Orders eradicating DEI, equal opportunity and affirmative action programmes across the federal government. He removed DEI requirements from federal contracts and eliminated equity-related grants and contracts. All tech companies working on US federal government contracts are now obliged to follow the rules.
So, what is going on here and what impact is the situation likely to have on the UK, not least among multinational tech firms operating in the country?
Jo Stansfield is founder and director of DEI consultancy Inclusioneering and a visiting fellow at Cranfield University. She believes current hostility towards DEI was born out of the anti-woke agenda, with “DEI being the corporate face of that”.
“It’s reflective of how disillusioned people are feeling, and that the way the world is going feels challenging,” says Stansfield. “This often gives rise to people becoming more protective of their ‘in-group’, so, for example, you see an increase in hostility towards immigration, which can feel threatening to some people when life feels difficult.”
Quietly and loudly quitting
But the situation is being compounded in the US by how employers implement DEI.
“Affirmative action there is more based around what can become a tick-box exercise – for example, have you reached your quota of ethnic minorities? – rather than focusing on how to create the best environment for everyone,” she says. “So, people fear they’re going to lose out on employment opportunities, and those that they’re othering will be advantaged rather than them.”
Debbie Forster is director of consultancy Novel Design and former co-chief executive of the now-defunct Tech Talent Charter (TTC). In her view, at least some of the large tech companies that have recently dropped their DEI initiatives were never very committed anyway.
“What we’re seeing is what we predicted nine months ago [when she and co-CEO Karen Blake closed TTC],” Forster points out. “We talked about organisations ‘quiet quitting’, but Trump’s made it easier for those who were taking a performative stance to ‘loudly quit’ when things got hard, that is in terms of changing culture and behaviour and ensuring leaders are incentivised.”
But she also acknowledges the importance of “bringing everyone along with you” in a DEI context, which did not always happen in the past.
“Along the way, we allowed right-wing individuals and the right-wing press to take hold of the narrative,” says Forster. “Some DEI people have said they worry about having tried to go too far and too fast, but I don’t think that’s the case – it’s more about how you tell the story.”
What’s happening to DEI?
Nithya Das, chief legal officer at governance software-as-a-service provider Diligent, agrees.
“If people don’t fully understand the ‘why’, it can lead to a situation where they don’t fully buy into others being developed or promoted,” she says. “Perception can become reality, and that cliché can apply in a very clear way to DEI at times.”
Even though the US administration’s view [of DEI] may have shifted, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is following suit Nithya Das, Diligent
But Das also indicates that despite the difficult political backdrop, many multinational tech companies are simply changing their approach rather than dumping DEI completely – whether they advertise the fact or not.
“Even though the US administration’s view may have shifted, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone is following suit,” she points out. “We’ve seen many boards at the multinational level continue with their commitment to DEI, even if they shift around operations and priorities, but we’re not seeing a wholesale deprioritisation.”
This is because many employers still see value in DEI “to drive business priorities and outcomes”, Das adds, “so the fact they’re continuing with it in jurisdictions where it’s permissible speaks volumes”.
Blake, who as well as being former CEO of TTC is a senior operations and inclusion leader, says she is seeing a “mixed bag” in terms of responses to the situation. In some organisations, there has been an increase in “side-of-the-desk” endeavours, in which marginalised groups are expected to keep initiatives going despite DEI staff or budget cuts.
In others, DEI is being integrated more into core business functions, such as HR and procurement teams. The aim here is to make them “more results-focused while maybe losing some of the ideological framing”, says Blake.
Still others are focusing less on external communications and more on internal messaging to reassure diverse teams of their continuing value to the business and that inclusion remains a priority.
DEI trends in the UK
Sheree Atcheson is group senior vice-president of diversity and inclusion at digital transformation consultancy Valtech. In her view, the UK is now starting to diverge more from the US in DEI terms as it takes its own direction.
In fact, she believes that, although the country may no longer be part of the European Union, it will be increasingly influenced by it going forward due to the strong, positive, legislative change emerging from the region.
But Atcheson also warns that for companies operating internationally, “it’s important not to have too much of either a European or US lens as things are nuanced around the world”.
Stansfield agrees. She recommends that organisations broaden out the “think global, act local” mantra that many have operated under for years to cover national DEI legislation and priorities in different countries. But she is also unsure how insulated UK tech companies will be from the US scenario, given that most operate in a global environment these days.
“Even small UK businesses that have contracts in the US will be impacted by the supply chain and what it’s doing,” she says. “So, they may start to feel more reticent about making a big show of DEI and start to communicate more carefully if their values aren’t aligned.”
Nonetheless, it is the state of the UK economy that will have the most significant likely influence over how UK companies react towards DEI moving forward, Stansfield believes.
“The economy is slowing, which is challenging for business and is resulting in DEI projects being deferred as they’re no longer a top priority,” she explains. “I’m not hearing backlash, but that it’s financially more challenging to do things now as people don’t have the budget, which means they say, ‘It’ll have to be later or smaller’.”
What can organisations do?
While this environment may be particularly difficult for third-party DEI consultants, Atcheson points out that there are still things employers can do themselves.
“You have to be realistic about what you can and can’t do,” she says. “Be specific, and even with a minimal budget, there are still things you can do to embed accountability into your processes – you just have to think about it slightly differently.”
Such an approach requires harnessing expertise in both process and organisational change. It also involves creating a compelling vision of the future and understanding what change needs to be rolled out in a structured way. Just as important is ensuring employee buy-in to ensure DEI becomes integral to the company’s day-to-day activities rather than simply being a flashy, one-off event.
For DEI to be successful, your talent has to see that it’s benefiting everyone in the organisation. It’s about going back to basics and bringing everyone on the journey with you to ensure they’re all focused on the right outcomes Nithya Das, Diligent
“Most organisations will have HR teams with those skillsets, but it needs time, focus and commitment, and that’s always been a challenge,” says Stansfield. “It also requires a targeted and strategic business-focused approach, so everything should be planned and have a purpose to ensure outcomes are tangible.”
As a result, expensive activities, such as hiring keynote speakers during International Women’s Week, for example, may need to be put on hold. But by ensuring DEI activities are “data-driven and focused on iterative results”, it is possible to create more of an impact anyway, says Diligent’s Das.
Another consideration is ensuring effective communication. “For DEI to be successful, your talent has to see that it’s benefiting everyone in the organisation,” adds Das. “It’s about going back to basics and bringing everyone on the journey with you to ensure they’re all focused on the right outcomes.”
What this means in practice is that, despite current difficulties, the DEI journey is far from over. As Forster explains: “Diversity and inclusion has slowed and is losing progress, but it’s not dead. It’s just regrouping.”
As a result, she views the current situation as being one of “holding the ground we have while building the case and alliances for the next push”.
“Today, there isn’t enough momentum, energy and drive to start the next national and international movement as there are too many bombshells hitting too regularly,” says Forster. “So, today doesn’t seem like the right time to launch a new idea.”
But she and Blake have started their “journey of listening to people on the ground” over the past few months. Therefore, the “building blocks of what the next chapter could be” are starting to emerge, although it is still too “tumultuous” to take any action yet.
“We’re currently in a drought, so we need to ensure we strengthen the grass roots to try to sustain individuals and groups before we talk about the next growth spurt,” says Forster. “People have been debating whether they’re wrong to step back from DEI for a while for their own mental health and financial well-being, but finding ways to sustain yourself and build alliances is vitally important to prepare for the next wave.”
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