While some employers may be tempted to downplay or disguise their diversity, equity and inclusion programs amid the current DEI backlash, these moves can send the wrong message to employees, says Eddy Ng, a professor of equity and inclusion at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business.
These so-called ‘shadow DEI’ programs are often rolled into the responsibilities of other departments and, while employers mean well by continuing such programs, their covert nature may draw criticism from both employees and anti-DEI voices alike.
“On the one hand, it’s good that employers want to continue to support these initiatives. On the other hand, when you’re doing things that are sort of covert, it invites suspicion.”
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The rollback of once-prominent DEI programs can also lead to employees from equity-deserving groups feeling devalued and, in some cases, without access to benefits and support, he adds. “They’re already vulnerable or marginalized. So when companies roll back these programs, that may include health-care benefits such as gender affirming care.”
The energy behind the DEI movement stalled after the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard — which outlawed affirmative action in college admissions — before shifting decisively into reverse gear with the election and eventual inauguration of President Donald Trump.
Since then, several large U.S. employers, including Ford Motor Co., John Deere & Co., McDonald’s Corp., Meta, Target Corp. and Walmart Inc. have followed the lead of the Trump administration — often under pressure from their own shareholders — by publicly backing away from DEI policies and commitments.
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While the DEI backlash is mostly a U.S. phenomenon, multinational employers can carry it into other markets when enacting company-wide practices that dial back DEI initiatives. Ng notes this practice was seen in action amid the loss of sponsors for Toronto’s 2025 Pride Parade in June.
To counter this backlash, it’s important for employers to keep their DEI programs front and centre by establishing employee resource groups and enhancing resources for chief diversity officers, while championing employees in leadership roles who can act as representatives for various equity-deserving groups.
“Make sure you have policies in place — and don’t roll them back,” says Ng. “Holding executives accountable for results is by far the single most important policy you can have to gain traction [with DEI initiatives].”
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