The recent surge of companies dismantling their DEI programs has sent shock waves throughout the corporate world. From Tractor Supply Company to Lowe’s, Harley Davidson, and even the University of Kentucky, this trend raises concerns about the future of workplace inclusivity initiatives.
However, it’s crucial to look beyond the headlines. While some organizations are scaling back, many others are quietly reinforcing their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fact, 72 percent of C-suite and HR leaders plan to increase their DEI commitment over the next two years.
The programs and practices that often are being dismantled represent a narrow view of DEI—one focused primarily on hiring quotas and surface-level metrics. At its core, DEI aims to create inclusive workplaces where all employees can thrive—a goal that remains as relevant as ever. Recent research supports this, with 78 percent of employees indicating that it’s extremely or very important for their company to be an inclusive organization.
But beyond supporting employee sentiment, DEI is still adding significant business value. Inclusive organizations are 73 percent more likely to reap innovation revenue, 70 percent more likely to capture new markets, up to 50 percent more likely to make better decisions, and up to 36 percent more likely to have above-average profitability
To navigate this challenging landscape and build more resilient DEI initiatives, organizations need to adapt their approaches. The key lies in embedding DEI principles across every role, function, and department, transforming it from a siloed initiative into an integral part of the organizational DNA.
Here are five strategies to sustain progress and reframe DEI as core to the business.
1. Be Strategic About DEI Communications
In many ways, the backlash against DEI is fundamentally a perception challenge. While headlines suggest a widespread dismantling of DEI programs, the reality is more nuanced. Some companies are indeed scaling back, but many others are quietly reinforcing their commitment to these initiatives. This complex environment underscores the need for a strategic approach to DEI communication.
A thoughtful, deliberate approach to DEI messaging is vital not just for reaffirming your commitment, but more importantly, for countering the misconceptions that often arise when DEI efforts are misunderstood or mischaracterized. Critics frequently mistake DEI for narrow concepts such as affirmative action or even label it as reverse racism, failing to recognize its broader scope. True DEI encompasses a wide range of initiatives, from addressing accessibility concerns to supporting neurodiversity, ultimately connecting every employee to its mission.
However, if we fail to clearly articulate this purpose and progress, critics can easily misrepresent it, potentially undermining the positive impact of these initiatives. This is why strategic communication can make the difference between fostering understanding and inadvertently fueling misconceptions.
This need for clear communication is particularly crucial given that DEI messaging can sometimes appear performative or hollow. In fact, 75 percent of American adults believe that US companies have not followed through on the DEI commitments they made during the pandemic.
Rather than focusing solely on enhancing visibility, the key is to be deliberate and strategic with how, when, and what you communicate. Reclaiming the narrative is crucial, but in today’s landscape, this may require working quietly behind the scenes while reaffirming your commitment internally and externally.
Whether through focused town halls, targeted updates, or strategic messaging tailored to key moments, it’s about finding the right balance between demonstrating your continued investment in DEI and understanding the sensitivity of current cultural and political climates. This strategic communication ensures that your actions speak louder than words, avoiding the performative pitfalls that can erode trust.
However, finding this balance is tricky. What’s right for today may not be right a few months from now, or what’s right for one industry may not be right for another. Navigating these complexities requires both experience and adaptability. This is where partnering with experts can be invaluable. Seramount, for instance, has extensive experience and expertise across various industries and can offer tailored guidance on how to best approach these difficult conversations in your specific context.
Ultimately, the work we do is critically important, but communicating about it—at the right time and in the right way—is equally vital. As Charles Sumpter, Senior Director of DEI at World Wildlife Fund, aptly puts it: “The story must be told that we’re doing this work. Otherwise, we’re just doing it in a vacuum.”
In a landscape where DEI efforts are often misunderstood or misrepresented, setting clear, measurable goals is critical to their success. This becomes especially important when considering that 35 percent of executives report their organizations lack clear plans for DEI. Without concrete targets tied to business outcomes, DEI can be dismissed as abstract or ineffective.
When setting goals, it’s important to think beyond representation targets—while important, they aren’t always linked to positive business outcomes and do little to counter perceptions of DEI as superficial. Instead, organizations should focus on measurable results that demonstrate direct benefits.
For example, if high attrition rates among women employees are an issue, setting retention goals and tracking progress are crucial steps to prove the effectiveness of your interventions. This also showcases the tangible impact of DEI initiatives on the bottom line, especially given research shows attrition can cost up to 150 percent of an employee’s annual salary.
“If a business says something is important, align yourself to that goal and make your work relevant to it. Doing so helps people understand your work as critical to what the business is focusing on. Since businesses are always looking at the numbers, aligning yourself to what the business wants means thinking about the data.”
Though setting tangible goals isn’t new, it’s essential for building resilience against backlash. Regular progress updates on clear, measurable outcomes demonstrate concrete value, making it harder for critics to argue against these programs. By tying DEI efforts to business success, organizations can make a compelling case for their continued importance.
3. Consider a Rebrand of Your Programs
The term “DEI” has increasingly become a lightning rod for criticism, particularly with the rise of the anti-woke movement. However, anecdotal data from Seramount’s partners show that organizations don’t need to abandon their initiatives to avoid backlash—they simply need to rebrand them.
Inclusive language plays a critical role in engaging a broader audience. For example, in developing our foundational DEI training program, Seramount found that terms like “allyship” and “psychological safety” can feel unrelatable or overly academic to some. By reframing these concepts to more accessible terms, such as “taking care of each other” or “bringing your best self to work,” the message becomes more palatable without sacrificing its core meaning.
“Obsessing over the label (“DEI” or any other) at times distracts from our true goal: increasing understanding, support, and equitable outcomes in the workplace. If “DEI” becomes a barrier to genuine conversation and action, explore alternative language that resonates better with your organizational culture.”
Rebranding programs to emphasize terms like “inclusion and culture,” “belonging,” or “equity and innovation” allows organizations to maintain the integrity of their DEI efforts while avoiding language that may trigger negative associations or knee-jerk opposition. This isn’t about diluting the work, but about making it relatable and actionable for a broader audience—particularly the “movable middle,” who may be open to change when concepts are framed in ways that resonate with them.
Don’t shy away from tackling important topics, but consider how your audience might best understand and engage with them. The specific approach will vary depending on factors like industry, location, and the maturity of your DEI efforts. Seramount has worked with hundreds of companies in similar positions and can provide expert guidance to help your initiatives continue to thrive.
While this approach may sound reminiscent of SHRM’s controversial decision to remove “equity” from DEI—a move viewed by many as a step backward—the goal for corporations is not to dilute the work but to ensure it continues, even if it appears under a different guise, while achieving the same outcomes.
4. Expand DEI’s Scope and Impact
DEI has always been about more than just hiring quotas or employee engagement, and now is the time to prove it. Expanding your initiatives beyond typical talent or employee programs into areas such as customer engagement, inclusive marketing, product development, and supplier diversity can unlock untapped potential and drive meaningful, measurable results.
Take the Miami Heat, for example. The team recognized they weren’t serving a significant portion of their fanbase (specifically, women) due to a lack of size-inclusive apparel. The Heat’s DEI and brand leaders collaborated with a garment manufacturer to create a fully inclusive, women-led apparel line in-house, offering sizes ranging from XS to 5XL.
The impact was immediate: Not only did they capture a new market and increase sales, but they also received an outpouring of positive feedback from fans who had previously felt excluded. By aligning DEI principles with customer needs, the Heat boosted fan engagement and unlocked new business opportunities, clearly illustrating why DEI must extend beyond the workplace.
Expanding DEI in this way not only enhances your bottom line but also brings critical buy-in from an often-overlooked stakeholder: the customers. Their loyalty and satisfaction become powerful drivers of success, ensuring that DEI initiatives resonate beyond the internal workforce.
Organizations that similarly expand their DEI efforts—whether through customer-centric initiatives, supplier diversity, product innovation, or any other avenue that aligns with your company’s goals—can see a ripple effect of inclusion that touches every aspect of the business. This broader perspective can also help fortify your organization’s resilience in the face of DEI backlash, demonstrating that DEI is not just an internal issue, but a driver of overall success.
As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, DEI can no longer be confined to US borders. Most organizations, even those primarily operating domestically, have a diverse workforce that may include foreign-born employees and cater to a global customer base. With 90 percent of Seramount’s Chief Diversity Officers Collaborative (CDOC) and Diversity Best Practices (DBP) partners having global operations—or at least relying heavily on global supply chains—it’s clear that a global perspective on DEI is not just beneficial but also is essential for building resilience against backlash.
Adopting a global outlook on DEI equips organizations with a broader base of support and a cross-pollination of strategies, making them better prepared to withstand domestic pushback. For instance, countries such as Sweden and Norway led with equitable parental leave policies from which US organizations can learn to create better support systems. Similarly, US organizations can share best practices in areas such as accessibility, which may still be evolving in other global markets.
This exchange of ideas enhances DEI efforts and provides concrete success stories that demonstrate DEI’s value, making it harder for critics to dismiss these initiatives. In times of stagnation or opposition at home, global wins can inspire renewed commitment and offer alternative pathways for progress. Success in one region can generate momentum in others, creating a positive feedback loop that reinforces the effectiveness of DEI initiatives worldwide.
This approach reinforces that DEI is not just a US-centric issue but a universal one, critical for success in our interconnected world. It provides organizations with a more comprehensive and nuanced toolkit to respond to potential backlash, drawing on diverse experiences and strategies from around the globe.
Ultimately, a global perspective transforms DEI from a localized initiative into a core component of global business strategy, making it more robust, more valuable, and more resistant to backlash of any kind.
The Way Forward
While recent events may signal a shift in how DEI is perceived and implemented, they don’t diminish its importance. Instead, this moment presents an opportunity to evolve and strengthen our approaches to create truly inclusive workplaces.
DEI is not just a current trend; it’s the future of business. With expanding demographics (those who identify as biracial or multiracial are projected to grow by 200 percent by 2060) and changing marketplace needs, organizations must be ready to meet these challenges and engage all employees, suppliers, and customers effectively.
In the short term, we may see what appears to be backlash. However, looking at the long-term picture, organizations that put in the work now will be ahead. Investing in DEI is an investment in future business success.
Fortunately, there are many ways we can continue this critical work and push the needle forward. The strategies outlined above are just a glimpse of the impactful steps that many of your peers are taking. From L’Oréal’s accessible hair dye kits to Frito Lay’s multicultural marketing through its ERGs, progress is still happening—despite the headlines and pressures to scale back their efforts that some companies are facing. These examples prove that meaningful advancement is possible, even in challenging times.
With more than 40 years of experience navigating the ebbs and flows of this work, Seramount can help your company not just weather the storm but emerge stronger and more inclusive than ever. Get connected with our experts to start charting your course to DEI resilience.
Kayla Haskins is an Associate Director, Product Marketing at Seramount. In this role, she supports DEI Practitioners and Talent Leaders in creating more inclusive workplaces by providing valuable insights and resources through webinars, blog posts, guides, infographics, and more.
With nearly a decade of experience in the technology and non-profit sectors,
Kayla Haskins is an Associate Director, Product Marketing at Seramount. In this role, she supports DEI Practitioners and Talent Leaders in creating more inclusive workplaces by providing valuable insights and resources through webinars, blog posts, guides, infographics, and more.
With nearly a decade of experience in the technology and non-profit sectors, Kayla excels in translating complex ideas into clear, actionable concepts. She is passionate about storytelling and is dedicated to addressing today’s most pressing workplace issues to drive meaningful impact.
Kayla holds a degree in English and Creative Writing from Dickinson College. She lives in Silver Spring, MD with her partner, Nick, and their dog, Zero. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading, and spending time with family and friends.
