Is the anti-DEI trend actually hurting diversity efforts?

With terms like "anti-DEI" and "anti-woke" being coined by policy makers and business leaders, it may seem like the workforce is regressing when it comes to their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. But thankfully, that's not necessarily the case. 

More than two dozen anti-DEI bills have been introduced in state legislatures — nine of which have passed — since 2021, according to Axios. In addition, household names such as Lyft and Meta have targeted DEI-specific positions more than other jobs in company-wide layoffs. While it may seem like inclusion efforts are under attack, it's important to look at the bigger picture.

"What's actually happening is that we're redefining what DEI means for organizations," says Amy Mosher, chief people officer of software company isolved. "It's not just an initiative anymore; it's ingrained into businesses' cultures and it's never really going away as a result." 

Read more: A people leader explains how to push past the 'anti-DEI' narrative

Despite budget decreases and the loss of DEI strategies across organizations year-over-year, 56% of companies still have a robust budget allocated towards diversity efforts, according to recent data from HR services company Paradigm. According to research by Employee Benefit News, 7% of respondents felt that DEI was an urgent area for the next administration and Congress to address.

As for why cuts were made in the first place, isolved found that 40% of companies said budget was their primary reason for decreasing their focus on DEI, rather than social or political pressures. 

Despite the lack of financial resources geared toward these programs, 90% of HR leaders feel confident about their DEI initiatives, and 66% of companies have actually increased their focus on DEI&B over the last year. Despite the headlines, DEI continues to be a significant business driver, according to Mosher.

"Having a sense of belonging is something that members of underrepresented groups really cherish in their employers — they're not going to leave for an employer that doesn't have that or that doesn't believe in that from a cultural perspective," Mosher says. "That has forced more organizations to think critically about the importance of these kinds of initiatives within their business." 

To stay proactive with their approaches, more than half of the companies isolved surveyed have increased diversity awareness in their internal systems, 49% are diversifying their candidate pool, 46% have created specific DEI committees and 41% conduct regular pay equity analyses.  

Read more: Sage's global head of DEI shares his lifelong quest to understand and implement equality

"We know that when employees are happy and engaged, your business will succeed. Implementing initiatives that support them is a big part of that," she says. "Finding skilled talent is going to be hard to find for the foreseeable future and you can't underestimate the power of bringing people together, which is what DEI programs are supposed to do." 

Mosher acknowledges that there are conversations happening about DEI that go against the efforts people leaders have been working towards for years. However, she urges organizations, and most importantly employees, to try and refrain from getting caught up in fleeting trends and stay focused on the long-term.   

"The future of these programs is that they will become synonymous with the goals of your business, not defined separately," Mosher says. "Once those beliefs have been fully integrated and influencing change, they can't ever truly go away."