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It is often difficult to clearly discern when a social trend ends and a new one begins. But right now across the United States, one change is all too obvious: Many DEI projects are stalling or dying, and the anti-DEI movement is gaining momentum.
Some, particularly but not exclusively on the right, have long viewed contemporary efforts to strengthen DEI practices as performative, officious, or ineffective. Over the past few weeks, however, as the return of Donald Trump has drawn closer, DEI opposition has grown louder. More importantly, this newly emboldened anti-DEI group has also gained powerful allies.
Many Americans may not have become familiar with the concept of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) until late 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and subsequent nationwide protests against racism and police brutality. Since then, many businesses and universities have scrambled to bolster their diversity efforts. DEI initiatives may involve hiring practices, but they also involve company culture and day-to-day company decisions about how the organization operates. In the final months of the first Trump administration, attacks on DEI were viewed by some in mainstream circles as akin to overt displays of bias. Now, not even five years later, for much of the country, idea DEI has become a catch-all insult. DEI is part bogeyman, part scapegoat for some combination of bureaucracy, overreach, or mediocrity.
Last week, Trump’s current right-hand man, Elon Musk, blamed the historically destructive Southern California wildfires on DEI practices within the Los Angeles Fire Department. “They are prioritizing DEI over saving lives and families,” Musk wrote on Former Fox host Megyn Kelly similarly attacked the LAFD, focusing on the organization's female leadership and the first openly LGBTQ fire chief, Kristin Crowley. 22-year veteran of the department: "Who finds comfort in 'I'" "I'm dying in front of a fat lesbian"? It’s ridiculous,” Kelly said on her podcast.
Actor James Woods, who once thought he lost his home in the Palisades fire, also mentioned DEI when attacking Crowley. In a post on Those three words were exactly what Woods needed: "Replenishing the reservoirs would also be a welcome priority, but I guess she has too much on her plate promoting diversity," he wrote.
In his latest appearance The Joe Rogan ExperienceMark Zuckerberg awkwardly praised "masculine energy" and lamented that "a lot of people in the corporate world are culturally pretty neutral." His company, Meta, just confirmed its intention to disrupt some DEI projects. Zuckerberg’s interview with Rogan, like his ingratiation with Trump, is part of a careful calibration in which DEI issues are front and center. Trump's incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, Stephen Miller, reportedly told Zuckerberg late last year that the 47th president intended to wage war on the DEI culture in corporate America. Zuckerberg clearly understands this. In an internal memo, AxiosJanelle Gale, vice president of human resources at Meta, made it clear that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing.”
Whether or not you agree with Meta's decisions about how to run the company, Gale is right that things are changing. Earlier this year, McDonald's announced it was abandoning its "aspirational representation goals." Shortly after Trump won the election, Walmart said it planned to end employee racial equity training programs and was re-evaluating DEI goals around suppliers. But it's not just tech bros or corporate giants. Last month, the University of Michigan announced it would end the practice of requiring diversity statements as part of faculty hiring, promotion and tenure decisions. This change is widespread new york times magazine The survey concluded that the school's expensive investment in DEI initiatives (approximately $2.5 billion) was nearly a failure.
The DEI battle is likely to get more intense. Hasty policy changes in either direction are unlikely to produce the best results. But one thing that is clear is that a post-DEI culture is already taking root in some areas. the latest one financial times The story quoted an unnamed "top banker" as saying he was "liberated" and excited at the prospect of no longer having to censor himself. "We can say 'sluggish' and 'timid' without fear of being cancelled," the banker said. "This is a new dawn."
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