How To Preserve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Under Project 2025

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives face ire from the far right. Robby Starbuck, who investigates corporations’ commitments to DEI, posted a meme highlighting the companies he has successfully pressured into changing their DEI policies. Mildred J Mills, a retired IT executive and author, said that companies are “feeling the heat from conservative activists” and as a result are walking back their corporate DEI policies.

Walmart is the latest and largest company to do so.

Earlier this week, the retail giant made headlines for rolling back its DEI efforts. These rollbacks include no longer selling certain LGBT+ merchandise on its website and choosing not to renew its contract with the 2020-founded Center for Racial Equity, according to Forbes. In a statement, Joe Pennington, Walmart’s Director of the Global Press Office, wrote: 

Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can deliver on it because we are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America. We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone.

The DEI “Problem”

This shift away from DEI is not limited to Walmart. Other companies that have recently changed their DEI policies include Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Toyota, Ford, and Lowes, among others. Toyota, one of the only companies to respond to Rwebel’s request for comment, stated: “Our goal is to create an environment that fosters innovation and success and where everyone feels like they are respected and belong.” 

Belonging has become a corporate buzzword recently, but DEI supports belonging. However, some will argue that it excludes white men. In a LinkedIn post exploring this, Women’s Tech Network noted that tech billionaire Elon Musk said, “DEI was ‘just another word for racism’.” 

DEI is not racism; it is an attempt at inclusion. Really, DEI is essential to employee retention, Mills said. She wrote, “An inclusive workforce was an innovative one that created a sense of belonging, inclusivity, team building, and accountability. This innovative environment led to employee retention, which is always a plus, especially after the corporation spends valuable resources to train its employees.”

Yet, for Walmart, employee retention has been deprioritized even before the DEI debacle. After all, it has faced copious and costly EEOC complaints; most recently, it paid out $175,000 to settle a disability lawsuit. For Sacha Thompson, this latest move is unsurprising given Walmart’s reputation for employee complaints. Thompson founded The Equity Equation, a company that attempts to bring psychological safety to people in the workplace through equitable practices. She noted, “They were not organizations that were very strong in their DEI efforts to begin with.”

This rings true for Walmart especially. From the shuttering of four stores in Chicago’s impoverished neighborhoods to its offensive Juneteenth ice cream, the corporation has never particularly been “woke,” despite what conservatives would have one believe. Moreover, many of the other companies reneging on their DEI efforts have aligned themselves with the incoming administration, Thompson mentioned.

In Thompson’s view, there are broader implications to these rollbacks; Walmart has isolated its bottom line, which includes many of the individuals who fall under various DEI categories. She said, “You in essence are also signaling to people that [you] don’t care about [them] as a person.”

The Historical Precedent

During her interview, Thompson discussed the historical implications of the fight against DEI. This is not a new phenomenon; it just has a new name. Thompson stated that in the ’60s, DEI was Civil Rights. In the ‘80s, it was Affirmative Action. Now, it’s DEI.

Mills also reflected on the historical context behind DEI measures. She went even deeper, analyzing how Black codes “restricted newly freed Black people their right to vote, housing, or earn a living.” Given this history, “it is not surprising or unusual in this country to have frameworks put in place to promote fair treatment and full support of all people, only to have them reversed or erased,” Mills added.

Asha Shivaji, founder of SeeMe Index, added context for the impact of “DEI” on women in the workforce.  SeeMe Index is a company that seeks to promote responsible use of artificial intelligence. Shivaji said, “A historical example of a similar pullback occurred after World War II, when women were pushed out of the workforce. Economist Claudia Goldin points out that this retraction had negative impacts on innovation and economic growth.”

Following World War II in the 40s, men returning from the war took women’s jobs and forced them out of the workforce, the National World War II Museum reported. Regarding the current crusade against DEI, Shivaji said, “[C]ompanies with more inclusive advertising see measurable results… because inclusivity is not just the right thing to do, it’s also a proven driver of business success.”

The Bottom Line

Mills echoed this idea that DEI contributes to a business’s bottom line. She wrote: “While some companies may scale back DEI initiatives, we must remember that belonging doesn’t hinge on policies but on actions. Leaders can foster workplace belonging by supporting BIPOC employees with mentorship and advancement opportunities, ensuring decision-making tables reflect the diverse communities they serve, and building an inclusive culture where every voice is valued, even in challenging times. True belonging for all arises when companies recognize that their greatest strength lies in their people’s diverse perspectives and experiences.”

Contrary to popular belief, DEI is not a practice that exclusively privileges Black and Brown people, Thompson mentioned. She said, “The group that benefited the most from affirmative action were white women.” As companies take back their DEI programs in fear of lawsuits from white men, they forget that “there is no historical precedent to prove that they [white men] have been a marginalized group in this country,” according to Thompson.

White men who file lawsuits against companies for their DEI policies will have a hard time establishing “a pattern of discrimination,” she stated. At this point, she brought up Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who is disabled. Thompson said he is a vocal opponent of DEI while benefiting from DEI. Without accessible entrances and exits, Abbott would be limited to where he could travel. 

The push against DEI is not about logic; it’s about power.

As the incoming administration makes power plays to implement Project 2025’s tenets, organizations must continue their advocacy. Although the name might change, Thompson mentioned, the work does not. “We might drop those three letters, but that work is going to continue to happen,” she said.