Navigating the DEI Storm, Building Our Future
Let's be honest: the world of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) feels like navigating a turbulent storm right now. Headlines highlight rollbacks, new legal questions have emerged, and if you’re a leader trying to do the right thing for your organization and its people, you might feel a knot in your stomach wondering, "What now?"
But here’s the truth: this moment isn't about retreating. It's about leading with even greater clarity and conviction.
What’s Really Happening in DEI…
Are we living in a paradox? On one hand, the external environment is putting pressure on DEI initiatives. The Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end race-conscious affirmative action in higher education sent a clear signal about the direction our highest levels of government were taking, and it reverberated through boardrooms and HR departments nationwide. While no employment laws were changed, organizations began reviewing their own DEI programs, wrestling with questions of compliance and risk. Fast-forward to the beginning of this year, two anti-DEI executive orders were signed, and now we’re seeing a rise in anti-DEI lawsuits, aggressive media campaigns, and even petitions for Board activism targeting these efforts. This isn't just noise; it’s a tangible shift in the legal and public relations landscape, making the work of DEI objectively tougher to advance than it was just a few years ago.
If you’re feeling some "uncertainty and fear" about how to talk about DEI, you’re not alone. Many leaders and employees are genuinely worried that even mentioning "DEI," advocating for equity, or simply touting their organization’s commitment could invite unwanted scrutiny. This fear often leads to silence, which risks damaging the trust employees and consumers place in your organization’s values. Worse, that silence creates a vacuum that opponents of DEI are all too eager to fill with misconceptions, like the notion that DEI is dead.
There’s the other narrative, though - one that tells a more powerful story: the vast majority of people and businesses are not giving up on DEI.
Despite the political shifts (cited by 49% as a major hurdle) and economic pressures impacting some organizations, a powerful counter-narrative is emerging from leading companies. A Resume.org January 2025 study of 1,000 companies found that a staggering 87.5% plan to maintain or even expand their DEI budgets this year. Think about that for a second. In the face of all this noise, nearly 9 out of 10 companies are staying the course. Why? Because for them, DEI isn't just a "nice-to-have"; it's a "must-have" for social impact and strategic necessity.
A scorecard shared by Impactivize shows that since the start of 2025, more than 20 companies have (by an overwhelming percentage) vetoed shareholders’ anti-DEI proposals. This includes American Airlines, which rejected its shareholders' request to end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index (a benchmarking tool scoring the companies' LGBTQ+ inclusive practices).
These aren't just corporate virtue signals. This is about smart business. Employers recognize that scaling back DEI efforts can hurt their business (81% believe this, according to a 2025 DEI Workplace report from Diversity.com), leading to talent attrition, reputational damage, and lost opportunities. Another study, recently conducted by Catalyst and NYU Law’s Meltzer Center, found that more than 3 in 4 leaders link DEI with financial performance. Employees, for their part, fundamentally want inclusive workplaces where they feel safe to express their opinions. They want to know whether their organization values their psychological safety at work. They want to be part of a culture where belonging isn't just a buzzword, but a lived experience.
So, while the headlines might focus on the storm, many of us are building stronger ships. The core desire for fairness, access for all identities and lived experiences, and the undeniable benefits of true collaboration and innovation haven't gone anywhere. We just need to be smarter, more intentional, and more strategic about how we achieve our organizational growth goals.
The Path Forward: What to Keep, What to Change
Now is the time for thoughtful, strategic action. This means refining our messaging, making it more strategic, and linking it directly to our core business objectives. We need to discern between what works and what is ineffective or simply creates noise or risk.
Keep and Start: Building Resilient Practices for the Long Haul
Strategic Plans, KPIs, and Business Goals: This work isn't solely a "feel-good" initiative; it's a business strategy. Period. You need a clear, long-term strategic plan for fairness in talent and customer practices that is integrated into your core business operations. This plan must have specific, measurable outcomes and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that directly tie to your company's overall business goals and objectives. Think about MITRE, a company praised for its diversity efforts, which uses analytics to refine its practices because its "people are data-driven" and the data shows DEI is "critical to our daily work". That's how you prove impact and allocate resources effectively.
Ongoing Learning That Connects the Dots: Forget the one-off, check-the-box training. That approach is often ineffective and performative. Instead, focus on ongoing learning, including DEI Workshops that explicitly connect key concepts to practical skills, company values, and tangible business benefits. To avoid the one-off learning pitfall, build a curriculum that includes formal training, coaching, targeted reminders during critical talent processes like hiring or performance reviews, and self-paced learning options. In this way, we go beyond creating awareness and focus critically on building capabilities. Help your teams understand how concepts like bias manifest in daily operations and equip them with tools to counteract it. Make learning a continuous part of your culture, fostering skills that lead to true fairness and inclusion.
Coaching and Support for Your Managers and Leaders: Your C-suite champions the vision, but your managers execute it every single day. Managers - especially middle managers - are juggling a lot. They’re managing up and down and navigating social issues in and out of work; many are often ‘player-coaches’… and we shouldn’t forget that they are human, too! They also worry about issues of inclusion, belonging, and professional development for themselves. Equip them with ongoing leadership and executive coaching and other developmental resources, so they can confidently promote your people's practices and policies, engage their teams, and communicate consistently. Strong leadership development is paramount to empowering your key players.
Thoughtful, Legally Compliant, and Authentic Messaging: The evolving legal landscape means we must be thoughtful about our messaging and language. In the current legal and social climate, understanding how to advance inclusion and belonging goals while mitigating risk is critical. As organizations message their values and goals for this work, focus on describing processes that expand talent pipelines and ensure equal opportunity. You can communicate your hopes and strategies for building a high-performing, diverse workforce while ensuring employment decisions are standardized and fair for all groups.
Remember that this work isn’t about hitting specific targets; rather, it is about allowing every capable person the same opportunity to compete and thrive on a level playing field. It’s also about using our influence and resources to show solidarity for groups that have been historically excluded from full participation and access in our workplaces. Consider these points as you carefully craft internal and external messaging.
Disrupt and End: Practices That Don’t Serve Us
Standalone, One-Time Training: If your DEI training is a single event, disconnected from any follow-up, broader culture initiatives, or direct business impact, it’s likely not serving your goals. These approaches often lead to resistance and cynicism rather than true change. Training should be part of a systemic approach, woven into ongoing leadership development and talent practices with clear objectives for skills-building and behavioral change.
"Check-the-Box" Events Without Meaningful Outcomes: Throwing a celebratory event without clear objectives, follow-up, or a defined link to your broader goals is performative. It fails to move the needle on genuine equity or inclusion within the organization. Your initiatives should have a clear purpose and contribute to your larger strategic plan, fostering a true sense of belonging for all team members.
Investing Without Data-Driven Measurement: Continuing to pour resources into DEI without robust, transparent measurement and reporting frameworks goes against fundamental best practices for running any successful organization. Leading companies use analytics to measure impact and refine their approaches, ensuring resources are allocated effectively. If you can't demonstrate tangible results, it's harder to secure continued buy-in and even harder to improve and make progress.
These refined approaches will help build stronger, more innovative, and successful organizations, beyond just mitigating risks. They foster collaborative and high-performing teams that truly benefit from their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Your Call to Action: Lead with Confidence and Clarity
This is a moment for leadership, courage, and strategic action. The organizations that will thrive in 2025 and beyond are those that don't just talk about fairness, inclusion, and belonging but embed them deeply into their business strategy. They move beyond isolated initiatives, committing to sustained leadership from the top down.
Where do you stand?
Assess your organization's internal expertise and capacity. Do you have the dedicated resources to conduct the necessary policy reviews? Are you able to design comprehensive, legally sound talent and inclusion strategies with measurable KPIs? Are you equipped to provide the ongoing, impactful leadership and talent development that your teams need? Can you effectively navigate the nuances of compliant communication while truly fostering a thriving culture of belonging?
At The Cee Suite, we specialize in partnering with organizations like yours to transform workplaces. We guide the strategy and the hands-on support to help your organizational goals and visions come to life.
Ready to move from intention to measurable impact and lead with confidence? Let's connect for a strategic conversation about your organization's workplace culture and inclusion journey.