What is DEI and why are companies turning away from it?
What is DEI and why are companies turning away from it?
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DEI: Explaining the diversity, equity and inclusion debate
Initiatives for diversity, equity, and inclusion are facing bans across the United States.
President Donald Trump's executive order to dismantle federal Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives came last week, but many U.S. businesses had already started rolling back their structured hiring practices.
DEI, a hiring practice designed to create a diverse and equitable workforce ensuring all employees have equal opportunity regardless of their background, has been met with growing political opposition and drew ire from Trump, who vowed on the campaign trail to rescind then-President Joe Biden's order that put many DEI policies in place.
Many businesses began scaling back their policies amid scrutiny from conservative groups. Others began rolling back following a June 2023 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ended affirmative action in college admissions.
Here's some more information about what DEI is and what companies have already changed their policies.
What is DEI?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a concept that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups that are "underrepresented or subject of discrimination because of their background, identity and disability," according to Dictionary.com.
The intended purpose of DEI programs was to create opportunities for all people to feel supported and have the resources to succeed, regardless of their race, identity or orientation.
Many businesses and agencies rushed DEI programs into place in the wake of the 2020 protests against the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police during an arrest.
But diversity practices have been around for decades, dating back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Trump has made clear that he opposed DEI programs like targeted hiring. During the heat of the presidential campaign, Trump supporters took to calling then-Vice President Kamala Harris a 'DEI hire.'
What companies have changed their DEI policies?
Several U.S. businesses have modified their DEI initiatives. Here are some amid a growing wave of companies as conservative backlash grows:
Lori Comstock is a New Jersey-based journalist with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
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Atlantic
24 minutes ago
- Atlantic
The White House Is Delighted With Events in Los Angeles
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The administration's decision to federalize 4,000 California National Guard forces, contrary to Governor Gavin Newsom's wishes, and to dispatch 700 active-duty Marines to the Los Angeles area, marks a break with decades of tradition under which presidents have limited their use of the military on American soil. If there are any internal misgivings about busting through yet another democratic norm, they haven't surfaced publicly. Indeed, officials at the White House told us they are satisfied with the way the L.A. confrontation has unfolded. They believe that it highlights their focus on immigration and law and order, and places Democrats on the wrong side of both. One widely circulated photo—showing a masked protester standing in front of a burning car, waving a Mexican flag—has been embraced by Trump supporters as a distillation of the conflict: a president unafraid to use force to defend an American city from those he deems foreign invaders. 'We couldn't have scripted this better,' said a senior White House aide granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. 'It's like the 2024 election never ended: Trump is strong while Democrats are weak and defending the indefensible.' Democrats, of course, take a different view, and say the administration's actions have only risked triggering further violence. Retired officers who study how the armed forces have been used in democracies told us they share those concerns. They point to the damage that Trump's orders could do to the military's relationship with the citizens it serves. 'We should be very careful, cautious, and even reluctant to use the military inside our country,' Bradley Bowman, a former Army officer who heads the defense program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, told us. Conor Friedersdorf: Averting a worst-case scenario in Los Angeles State and local authorities typically use law-enforcement personnel as a first response to civil disturbances or riots, followed by National Guard forces if needed. Retired Major General Randy Manner, who served as acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau during the Obama administration, said the federalizing of California Guard forces—putting them under presidential rather than state control, a move allowed with certain limits—pulls those service members away from their civilian jobs and makes it harder to complete planned training or exercises. 'Basically, the risk does not justify the investment of these forces, and it will negatively impact on readiness,' Manner told us. Retired officers we spoke with also drew a distinction between the involvement of National Guard and active-duty forces. Whereas National Guard troops assist citizens after natural disasters and have the advantage of knowing the communities they serve, active-duty forces are primarily trained to 'see the enemy and neutralize the enemy,' said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel now at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'When you're dealing with U.S. citizens, no matter what they're doing, that's not the right mindset.' 'This is not Fallujah,' Bowman added. 'This is Los Angeles.' Juliette Kayyem: Trump's gross misuse of the National Guard This morning, Hegseth made his first congressional appearance since his bruising confirmation process, appearing before a House committee. His tone with Democrats was at times combative. When Representative Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat, asked the defense secretary what the cost of the California deployment would be, he declined to provide a figure and instead pivoted to criticism of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the state's response to the violence that followed Floyd's killing in 2020. (Military officials said later they expected the Los Angeles deployment, as envisioned, to cost roughly $134 million.) 'If you've got millions of illegals, you don't know where they're coming from, they're waving flags from foreign countries and assaulting police officers, that's a problem,' Hegseth told lawmakers. Trump, for his part, told reporters that anyone who tries to protest at the Saturday parade celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army will 'be met with very big force.' 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Los Angeles Times
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27 minutes ago
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