In the past 5 years, many companies have pushed for major Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies in order to promote better overall business. While this has become extremely common, President Donald Trump is pushing back.
On his first day returning to the White House, Trump did away with many DEI initiatives in the federal government, claiming they are divisive and discriminatory. As of Monday January 27th, Trump also did away with some diversity programs in the Department of Defense as well as the Department of Homeland Security. When asked about this, Trump said “My administration has taken action to abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense – and these are policies that were absolute nonsense – throughout the government and the private sector.” Trump also said that federal DEI programs were an “immense public waste and shameful discrimination.”
This comes as no surprise. When running for office, Trump was very clear about his opposition. While Trump can’t force companies to shift their workforce, he can and may increase political pressure on those companies. Elle Arlook, head of equity and justice at APCO, said companies “are not making significant shifts to their DEI work beyond de-risking elements that could become litigious.” Some anti-DEI individuals are question the truth of Arlook’s statement due to potential bias.
Trump Alongside Others Fighting DEI
Trump certainly is not the only one fighting against diversity initiatives. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ( R ), and nine other state
Attorney generals warned financial institutions later week that they could face legal consequences for any extreme DEI as well as environmental, social, and governance (ESD) activities. It seems that the attorney generals believe that some DEI and ESG activities “prioritize politics over consumers and investors.”Of this, Paxton said “Banks and financial institutions are finally starting to realize that the ESG and DEI policies pushed by radical activist groups are bad for consumers and potentially violate the law.”
Of the midair collision between an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter in Washington D.C., Trump said DEI “could have been to blame” as well. Even amidst a heartbreaking loss, Trump seems to be using it as an example of diversity’s shortcomings.
Impact of New Diversity Policies
Changes in diversity policies certainly could change corporate America and the potential business produced. While it is unclear to what extent the President will go to, many companies such as Target, Amazon, and Meta are all abandoning their DEI programs. Other companies, however, still stand firm that DEI helps business. Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs are all convinced that Diversity will give them a competitive advantage and helps their business. Investors are eager to see how DEI focused versus DEI abandoned companies perform, and will use that as an indicator of how useful it is for business.
What do you think of this pushback? Is diversity helpful for business and corporate America, or does it limit companies potential? Let us know in the comments.
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