
WEAPONISING DEI
DEI has been facing mounting backlash in various parts of the world, most demonstrably led by Trump and MAGA in the United States who have politicised and weaponised it. From legislative moves to ban anything to do with DEI in Federal government (hiring, training, supplier diversity) and freezing of USAID funding on DEI globally, to blaming and scapegoating any inconvenient reality on DEI – such as the Baltimore bridge collapse, the LA fires and the recent Washington plane crash! This backlash is reminiscent of the racist and sexist tropes of the past, causing panic, confusion and concern and triggering those companies, whose commitment to DEI may have been largely performative to date, to take steps to fall in line.
DO NOT LET THE TAIL WAG THE DOG
The U.S. has been a world leader in almost all respects for more than a century; and today remains the largest economic, military and media superpower. However, the U.S. has for years been abdicating its lead in many other respects: education, health outcomes, quality of life and safety. The U.S. no longer even ranks as a “Full Democracy” in the Economist Democracy Index (it is now a “Flawed Democracy”) and whilst still an innovation leader due to its massive economic scale and resources, does not have the strongest innovation ecosystem in the world anymore (smaller countries Switzerland and Sweden now rank ahead).
Trump has further relinquished America’s world leadership role on climate change; human rights; and it has for a long time lagged behind all other developed economies in terms of labour rights and conditions (rating only 3 out of 6 on the Labour Rights Index, on par with countries such as Libya, India and Bolivia). And so,it should not come as a surprise that it has abdicated from world leadership on DEI.
But the reality is whilst the U.S., once a DEI pioneer, regresses , other regions (including Australia, UK, Europe, Japan and Singapore) are stepping forward and systematically raising obligations of employers to create a fairer, safer and more respectful workplace for all, underpinning this with legislative requirements to implement, monitor and report on it.
PUSHBACK AND RESET
Given enormous influence and purchasing power of the US government, pushback globally needs to be both vocal and strategic, reflecting a commitment to pursue an ideology of fairness that benefits one and all and creates healthy, respectful, productive and innovative workplaces. This is fundamentally what the DEI agenda is all about – not how Trump and how others on the right may misconstrue it.
This does need to be accompanied however by the recognition that many aspects of DEI practice have become dogmatic, performative and even divisive and have become more about serving the interests of one group over another rather than producing fair workplaces. Like any piece of management and economic theory and practice that is occasionally disrupted, the inclusion space needs to undergo a reset with a willingness to evolve and improve. How to achieve this?
Here are 4 key strategic actions you can take:
FOUR KEY STRATEGIC ACTIONS TO TAKE
1) Reframe the Value Proposition grounded in the raft of empirical data which demonstrates the inherent value of Inclusion, not just as a moral imperative but as a driver of innovation, employee engagement, and organisational success. Workplaces that value inclusion are more innovative, adaptable, higher performing and successful. By reframing the narrative, workplace inclusion and fairness will be positioned as a strategic advantage rather than a compliance burden. Be willing, however, to engage in a meaningful debate about the evidence and what it actually does and does not prove, and find common ground that is supported by the data.
2) Adopt a universal approach to inclusion, grounded in an outcomes-based, win-win, coalition-building mentality, that creates psychological safety for all. Universal inclusion embodies the idea that fairness and respect extend to all individuals. It recognises that inclusion is not a zero-sum game—benefiting one group does NOT come at the expense of another. Instead, universal inclusion leverages the richness of diverse knowledge, perspectives and experiences by creating a workplace where everyone can contribute their very best. The ultimate goal is a collective uplift, where no one feels alienated or left behind. Such an approach moves away from a primary focus on identity politics towards a collective approach on leveraging inclusion to optimise purpose and performance for all. This will reduce polarisation by emphasising interconnectedness and mutual benefit. It will also maximise leadership buy-in and build a culture in which everyone engages constructively as they all feel seen, heard, and respected.
3) Integrate inclusion into your systems, policies and decision-making processes grounded in the recognition that this is about going beyond workshops, events and slogans. It is about recognising that addressing mindsets, attitudes and behaviour together with communication campaigns so that everyone can thrive. Many of the barriers to everyone actualising their full potential lie in the gap between policies and their implementation. Inclusion practices must be embedded structurally rather than treated as a standalone effort to ensure that change is sustainable and impactful. Systemic change, however, is a lot harder to do than running a workshop and requires a long-term commitment.
4) Move from Best Practice to Best Evidence – become data driven, grounded in the necessity to diagnose what problems you need to solve for, rather than just sheep-dipping everyone and everything in a broad, brushstroke, uniform approach because others are doing the same. This is about obtaining and leveraging meaningful and measurable indicators and outcomes for all your inclusion efforts. As Inclusion practitioners we have to acknowledge that some approaches have been ineffective at best and counterproductive at worst, alienating different groups and/or led to disengagement from leadership and teams who feel the initiatives have lacked clarity or tangible outcomes. Data is essential to identify gaps, problems to be solved, track progress, and ensure accountability in Inclusion efforts. Without metrics, organisations cannot determine what issues require attention, whether their initiatives are driving meaningful change or are perpetuating unintended consequences.
CALL TO ACTION
The Symmetra Leadership team’ s collective experience of over 60 years in the DEI space has positioned us to witness DEI’s evolution from affirmative action to employment equity, to diversity management, to DEI and now the call to Workplace Inclusion and Fairness. This has been simultaneous to the evolution of Personnel Management to Human Resources to People and Culture. These changes in terminology have not just been superficial language changes, but recognition by the leading experts in these fields of the need to respond to changing times, to incorporate new insights and to reset in order to harness the next wave of innovation and growth. The future of DEI (or whatever we may end up calling this work) depends on its ability to evolve and adapt. And we must adapt because the work is important and its impact is meaningful.
So, in the face of resistance yet again (as there have many peaks and troughs in the DEI journey over the last 60 years) the call to action is clear. It is time for us as practitioners to lift our voice and to lift our game. It is also time to call on the many CEOs and leaders whom we know are strongly committed to Workplace Inclusion and Fairness and who are doubling down on their efforts to create safe and respectful workplaces which will optimise team and organisational performance (as has been stated by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Costco, Beiersdorf, Deutsche Bank, HESTA etc) to do the same:
Let us all stand up and be counted.