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Companies rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to political and legal pressure risk creating new challenges for their employees - especially women, people of color, and other marginalized groups, according to experts.
By scaling back efforts like pay audits, diverse hiring pools, and equitable promotion practices, employers could unintentionally expose themselves to more workplace discrimination claims, experts warn.
Trump’s recent executive order to terminate federal DEI programs and encourage private companies to follow suit has added to the growing trend of organizations stepping away from such initiatives.
The programs often play a critical role in preventing discrimination, however, and ensuring compliance with federal and state anti-discrimination laws. Without them, employees face greater barriers to fair treatment, pay equity, and advancement opportunities.
Protecting against bias
DEI policies often serve as safeguards against bias by identifying pay disparities, promoting diverse hiring, and ensuring fair treatment in promotions. Employers who reduce or eliminate those practices may unintentionally create inequities that can lead to lawsuits.
Stopping pay audits, for example, could allow wage gaps between men and women to persist unnoticed, and even grow, while reducing efforts to recruit diverse job candidates may invite claims that certain groups were excluded from consideration.
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Federal laws like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibit employment discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and other characteristics, and these protections are mirrored in state laws.
“Without these tools, companies are more likely to overlook inequities and face increased legal risks,” said Jason Solomon, director of the National Institute for Workers’ Rights.
DEI in settlements
DEI initiatives often come into play when companies resolve workplace discrimination lawsuits. Goldman Sachs, for instance, agreed to review its pay practices and address discrepancies as part of a $215million settlement in 2023. Similarly, DHL implemented policies to ensure race didn’t influence work assignments after facing claims from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Experts argue that abandoning such programs not only reduces protections for employees but can also be used against employers in court. For instance, cutting DEI initiatives could be cited as evidence of bias or animus in lawsuits, making it harder for companies to defend themselves.
Increased discrimination complaints
Data shows the scale of discrimination claims in the US, with the EEOC receiving over 81,000 complaints in 2023, alongside an additional 50,000 filed with state and local agencies. Many of those cases rely on evidence that companies failed to address systemic bias - something DEI programs are specifically designed to combat.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, recently that suggested workplaces needed more “masculine energy” after the company scaled back its DEI efforts. While not illegal, such statements could be used as evidence in discrimination cases, reinforcing claims that the company fosters a biased environment.
For workers, the rollback of DEI policies may mean fewer tools to ensure equitable treatment and a higher likelihood of facing discrimination in the workplace. Experts caution that while political pressure to cut back on DEI efforts may be mounting, the legal and ethical risks of doing so could outweigh any short-term benefits for employers.
