Major Corporations Abandoning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives Result in Unemployment of Thousands
In the sunlit front room of her North Carolina home, Candace Byrdsong Williams keeps inspiration close. Packed among the overflowing plants and photographs of her three daughters are stacks of books on memoirs, business advice, and the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
For Byrdsong Williams, who generally radiates a calming optimism, this has been a career focus for 18 years. However, her voice breaks as she picks up a textbook titled "The Chief Diversity Officer," signifying the pinnacle of her profession - a promotion she was working toward before being laid off in August. The current political climate has made that promotion seemingly unattainable, not just for Byrdsong Williams, but for thousands of U.S. workers in the DEI field.
She was only a few steps away from the top of her chosen field, holding the title of global director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. But now, the promotion of "chief diversity officer" seems like an elusive achievement.
The anti-DEI political climate Byrdsong Williams references has gradually intensified, even before President Trump's re-election and his signing of executive orders banning what he termed "illegal DEI." As a result, numerous employers are retreating from anything associated with the word "diversity," including experienced DEI professionals who were once in high demand.
Just this month, Verizon announced it was ending many of its DEI policies to seek the Federal Communications Commission's approval for a $20 billion merger. The company promised the agency that its human resources department would no longer have a team or any individual roles focused on DEI.
According to a data analysis conducted by Revelio Labs for NPR, since early 2023, U.S. employers have eliminated more than 2,600 jobs with terms related to diversity or DEI. This accounts for about 13% of the available DEI-related jobs at their peak, marking a significant reversal of the hiring boom.
The rise and fall of corporate DEI can be traced back to the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's murder by a white police officer and the start of a national reckoning over systemic racism. Corporate America responded quickly, declaring their intention to fight discrimination and create opportunities for workers of all backgrounds.
While some of these promises proved superficial, big companies still spent substantial resources on implementing them, employing more than 20,000 people focused on DEI by early 2023 - more than double the number just five years prior. However, as soon as companies staffed their DEI teams, they faced a backlash from conservative influencers, activists, lawyers, and officials who argue that DEI itself is discriminatory.
The DEI backlash gained traction in 2023, following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down affirmative action at colleges and universities. Another example is Bud Light losing over $1 billion in sales due to a conservative boycott after hiring a transgender influencer for a promotional video. President Trump then escalated the attacks with his executive orders, calling the programs "radical and wasteful" and discriminating against non-minorities.
In the wake of these developments, many large companies, such as Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Meta, have ended some of their DEI policies. Dozens of others have purged words like "diversity" from their public documents, causing a significant impact on professionals like Byrdsong Williams, who has been searching for a job for more than nine months.
The day-to-day work of DEI professionals tends to be mundane but essential, focusing on making workplaces more welcoming for all employees. Byrdsong Williams, for example, has created mentoring programs to allow employees from diverse backgrounds to learn from top executives and network, and she developed resource groups to provide underrepresented workers with better peer support.
Even companies that have ended their DEI policies acknowledge the benefits of these efforts, as Verizon told the FCC this month that delivering for customers requires attracting the best talent from across the country. The company added that it remains committed to creating a culture that leverages and values each person's unique strengths and talents.
Some companies have renamed their diversity initiatives with more generic terms, such as "belonging" at Target and Walmart, or "accessibility and engagement" at Meta. Other companies, like Costco and Delta Air Lines, have publicly defended their DEI initiatives and dismissed anti-DEI shareholder proposals.
Experts argue that even companies retreating from DEI are making superficial and semantic changes while remaining committed to the underlying goals of creating opportunities for all workers. However, they are no longer hiring as many people to perform this work, regardless of the label. Revelio Labs reports that DEI-related job titles have declined, with a shift towards titles such as "belonging" or "culture."
Meanwhile, chief diversity officers have been resigning, retiring, or getting laid off and are not being replaced. As a result, veterans like Byrdsong Williams with nearly two decades of experience in what she calls "my heart's work" face a challenging employment landscape. She fears not only the prolonged unemployment but also the public vilification of her profession.
"I just want a company to see me," says Byrdsong Williams. "Which is really ironic because part of DEI is being seen and being heard." The wave of silence enveloping corporate America has left many DEI professionals feeling isolated, uncertain about their employment prospects, and afraid to discuss the issues publicly.
Byrdsong Williams decided to break the silence in February, posting on LinkedIn about her layoff, the decline in DEI roles due to the political climate, and her search for opportunities. "The world has taken a step back, in just the narrative, overnight. It's been crazy," she said in late March, reflecting from her home in a leafy rural suburb near Raleigh.
Byrdsong Williams grew up in the area, and after studying occupational health in college and living part-time in Europe with her then-husband, she settled back home with her three daughters. In 2007, she started a claims adjuster job for Nationwide, but her degree and early human resources experience caught an executive's eye, leading to a regional D&I (diversity and inclusion) program.
That experience opened Byrdsong Williams' eyes to the depth of diversity issues, realizing that "diversity runs so deep. It's not only about the things that you can see." In time, bigger employers began courting her, leading to positions at tech giant Cisco and software startup GitLab, which hired her to oversee diversity, inclusion, and belonging as it prepared to go public in 2021. Today, despite her extensive experience, she finds herself in a deep job market freeze.
Byrdsong Williams was laid off by her most recent employer in early August and has since interviewed for two separate jobs. Each time, after several rounds of interviews, she was informed that the company was no longer hiring for that position. In one case, she observed the company posting a similar job description without any DEI references.
"I don't understand how it has come to a place of just taboo: 'Don't talk about it,'" says Byrdsong Williams. Has she given up on her dream of becoming a chief diversity officer? She pauses, fighting back tears, and allows, "I'm not chasing the title. I just want to do good work until it's time for me to retire."
The retreat from DEI disproportionately affects women and people of color, who hold fewer top "C-Suite" executive jobs in corporate America despite accounting for a higher percentage of the U.S. population. This trend is particularly pronounced in DEI-related roles, with women accounting for more than 71% of all DEI professionals from 2020 through 2024, compared with 51% of other roles. Black and Hispanic workers together held only 21% of other jobs but 33% of DEI roles.
Moreover, companies that remain committed to diversity tend to hire a more diverse workforce, especially Black and Asian workers, compared to companies without DEI teams. Removing DEI functions from companies will likely lead to a decrease in diversity in the workplace, felt for years to come.
While some DEI employees hope their work will continue under names such as "belonging" or "cultural transformation," Revelio Labs sees a drop-off in those job titles as well. Instead, they suggest that companies are moving towards more generalist HR roles. Some veteran DEI executives are reassessing whether they want to stay in the embattled field or focus on other aspects. Siminoff, who created and ran such initiatives for Morgan Stanley, Apple, and Twitter, expresses uncertainty about whether doing this work amid ongoing uncertainty is the right choice.
- Candace Byrdsong Williams, now unemployed, once aspired to become a chief diversity officer, a promotion she was working towards before being laid off.
- The political climate has made the promotion of "chief diversity officer" seemingly unattainable for professionals like Byrdsong Williams, as numerous employers are retreating from anything associated with the term "diversity."
- In the field of health and wellness, businesses are often focusing on workplace-wellness initiatives, but the decline in corporate DEI programs could negatively impact the overall well-being of the workforce, particularly underrepresented employees.
- As a result of the retreat from DEI, veterans like Byrdsong Williams with nearly two decades of experience are facing a challenging employment landscape and feeling isolated, uncertain about their employment prospects, and afraid to discuss the issues publicly.
- Diversity and inclusion in the business world have a significant impact not only on the well-being of employees but also on the financial performance of companies, as a more diverse workforce leads to better problem-solving, more innovative ideas, and increased profitability.
