The American DEI Debate And Its Potential Atlantic Cross-Over To The UK

The American DEI Debate And Its Potential Atlantic Cross-Over To The UK

US President Trump’s push to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes has led to a host of executive orders aimed at curbing policies that target discrimination. These orders – such as ‘Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing’ and ‘Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity’ – place both the policies of federal bodies and those of its grantees and contractors under scrutiny. Trump’s moves have amplified the impact of the Supreme Court's 2023 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions (see Verdantix Public Support For DEI Persists In The US, Despite Corporate And Political Backlash). As a result, several large organizations are scaling back their DEI initiatives:

• Bank of America, BlackRock, META, McDonald’s and Walmart have reduced DEI efforts due to concerns over potential legal repercussions following the executive orders.
• The US Department of Defense is in the process of taking down and deleting thousands of websites to comply with Trump’s executive orders, including removing pages dedicated to topics like remembering the Holocaust.
• US arms of Deloitte and KPMG have scaled back broader DEI initiatives, with the former instructing employees to remove preferred pronouns from emails and other communications, and the latter removing and discontinuing its annual transparency reports.

These shifts threaten to undo some of the changes made in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, which led to a global increase in DEI programmes, driven by the Black Lives Matter movement. For example, the S&P 100 saw over 300,000 jobs created, with 94% of those filled by people of colour.

However, not all firms are yielding to political and legal pressures. Firms like Apple, Ben & Jerry’s, McKinsey and Costco remain committed to DEI. Apple’s shareholders even voted to continue diversity programmes, showing that support for DEI initiatives persists despite political challenges.

Shifting terminology: from DEI to diversityhushing

As American voters remain deeply divided on DEI programmes against the backdrop of strong federal pushback, a closer look at some firms reveals they may be changing the semantics rather than completely dismantling DEI efforts. Attempting to avoid legal trouble, several are rebranding their DEI initiatives and downplaying their achievements, while still maintaining similar practices:

• Walmart renamed its Chief Diversity Officer to Chief Belonging Officer.
• JPMorgan Chase shifted its focus from ‘equity’ to ‘opportunity’, renaming its programmes Diversity, Opportunity and Inclusion (DOI) and integrating some previously DOI-managed programmes into different business units, like human resources and corporate responsibility.
• McDonald’s revamped its DEI strategy and renamed its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team.
  
  

These changes reflect a shift toward what could be termed ‘diversityhushing’—a more subtle, rebranded approach to DEI that avoids triggering legal challenges while preserving the underlying principles.

The UK’s response? Mixed.

On the other side of the Atlantic, early signs of retraction are visible in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have dropped plans to introduce new diversity rules for the financial services sector. Firms like Ocado are postponing their deadlines for ethnic minority representation.

Yet, a survey of 1,000 UK organizations has revealed that most firms see DEI as a valuable investment, seeking to embed systemic change into business practices. Another survey suggests that only 6% of UK employers foresee major changes in the workplace due to the US reversal.

There are strong indications that the UK may well continue to focus on social sustainability alongside environmental goals, shielding itself from the broader anti-DEI sentiment in the US. For example, Deloitte UK has distanced itself from its American counterpart by reaffirming its commitment to diversity goals and transparency on inclusion. Similarly, at a policy level, the Employment Rights Bill is set to take effect later this year, requiring organizations with more than 250 employees to publish equality action plans.

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