Women leaders warn against anti-DEI push, urge unity and inclusion at Mackinac Policy Panel

Yahoo

5 days ago

Skillman Foundation President and CEO Angelique Power and U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) at the Mackinac Policy Conference's Women in Leadership panel on May 28, 2025. | Kyle Davidson
During the annual women in leadership panel at the Mackinac Policy conference, leaders from the public and private sectors spoke out against growing federal efforts opposing diversity, equity and inclusion or practices, emphasizing that diversity remains a value within the state.
The panel, led by Laura Granneman, the executive director of Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation, hosted U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly); Tina Kozak, CEO of the PR firm Franco; and Angelique Power, president and CEO of the Skillman Foundation, which advocates for Detroiters' perspectives in education policy.
Looking across the nation at the push against diversity, Slotkin said there's a narrative circulating that diversity is a bad thing rather than a good thing.
'It's sending shock waves of fear through the system and the conversations I'm having with Michigan organizations is like, 'Please don't over index', right? Don't bend over backwards to, like, go the opposite direction. We're in Michigan. You know diversity is a value,' Slotkin said, warning that organizations are going too far in responding to anti-DEI sentiments and actions.
While the federal government has taken action to end DEI policies in the federal government, the sentiment goes beyond that, Slotkin said, pointing to President Donald Trump blaming diversity initiatives for January's deadly aircraft collision at Washington Reagan National Airport.
'This isn't about DEI, right? This is about saying that in order for me to champion one group of people, I have to put down a whole bunch of other groups of people,' Slotkin said.
'The challenge for us in Michigan, is to say, how do we communicate and call balls and strikes on what we know is right for our state and for our institutions. And you just have to look around at this conference and say, like, there is value in having a different group of voices around a table,' Slotkin said.
Power noted that it had been five years since the murder of George Floyd, and that a tremendous amount of work on diversity, equity and inclusion work followed.
'I don't want us to lose that. That the work that was done was different than the DEI work — or the DI the diversity and inclusion work — that was done before,' Power said.
'These last five years, there was such a introspective lens that institutions took, that individuals took to say, like, 'What can I do differently?' There was a realization that it isn't about solely representation, it was about ownership and agency and voice. It was about creating new tables. And that worked so well that there is this tremendous backlash against it now,' Power said.
The issue now is not about defending an acronym, but rather defending American values, Power said.
'In two years we're going to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country. 'We the People'. That's our chance to say, when we first said, 'We the People,' it really meant, like, you know, white men. Now we get a chance to say who we really mean by 'We the People',' Power said.
While Kozak said she didn't have much to add, she noted it was frustrating to see a resistance to forward motion.
However, she remained hopeful, arguing that the state and businesses understand the importance of diversity.
'Investing in women is good business. And I believe that, and I believe that corporations know that. I think they're calling it different things to your point, to sort of over-correct and protect, but I'm hopeful,' Kozak.
Later in the panel Power detailed the importance of coalition building in the philanthropic realm, with foundation presidents working in coalitions all across the nation.
However, President Trump's executive order opposing DEI has targeted universities and foundations with more than $500 million in assets, accusing these groups of illegal discrimination in order to strip their nonprofit status and fine them into submission, Power said.
This includes Black Lives Matter-oriented organizations and groups working to support climate justice in low income areas and communities of color who are disproportionately impacted by climate change, she said.
'Truthfully, I think all of us watched the university presidents and we saw what happens when you go it alone, when an attack comes at you and you try to handle it with talking points that were handed to you,' Power said.
'Whether it's nationally, or whether it's locally, whether it's within this current context, or whether it has to do with the education system, we have to solve this together,' Power said. 'And that's actually one of the best things about Michigan. We're a proudly purple state. We are not going to make progress unless we have bipartisan ideas that we move through and that we can sustain.'
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