What can you do if your company is cutting DEI programs?

2024 was a tough year for progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace. Not long after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, companies began making subtle changes to DEI policies and programs that catered to underrepresented workers, seemingly in response to escalating legal attacks and conservative backlash. Tech employers started downsizing DEI programs and shedding staff as part of layoffs. Some organizations tried to move away from the language of DEI and stopped using terms like “equity.” But last year, amid pressure from conservative activists like Robby Starbuck, many companies—including major employers like Walmart, McDonald’s, and Ford—took more drastic measures, disbanding employee resource groups, nixing representation goals, and ending participation in an annual index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees. In the last week, Big Tech has also made more aggressive cuts to diversity programs, with Meta eliminating its DEI team altogether. Some companies, like Costco, have stood their ground despite public pressure, while Walmart is now facing pushback from investors for its reversal on DEI. Still, there’s no doubt corporate America is scaling back its commitment to DEI—or at a minimum, rebranding the work to protect against legal liability. But if you’re a leader who is truly invested in fostering a diverse workforce, you can still find ways to be a better advocate and ensure women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups advance in the workplace. Look at the data Some employers have now eliminated representation goals for senior leadership, while others no longer consistently publish diversity reports. Even if that’s the case at your company, there are other metrics that can help measure who is being promoted into or considered for those roles, according to DEI leader and workplace strategist Mita Mallick. You can also ask whether the company has evaluated how women and men are rated on performance reviews, or if there are any pay inequities that have gone unaddressed. Another important data point is the rate of attrition for women and other underrepresented workers, which can give you a sense of whether certain employees are leaving the company in higher numbers. Dig into employee engagement surveys In the last year, a number of companies have opted out of surveys like the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which many workers value as a sign that an employer is supportive of the LGBTQ+ community. But plenty of companies still rely on employee engagement surveys and other internal polling to get a pulse on their workforce. If you’re trying to understand how certain workers are being affected by cuts to diversity programs—and what you can do about it as a leader—this could be a good place to start. “If your company has scaled back initiatives that specifically supported women, you can get a sense of what the impact has been,” Mallick says. “Are women lacking sponsorship to help them advance their careers? Are they feeling stuck in their careers, being promised promotions that don’t materialize? Are they receiving little to no feedback from their boss?” Support employee resource groups Employee resource groups can be a crucial community for underrepresented workers—so much so that some companies have started compensating leaders for their work. But this is yet another area where employers have been making some major cuts as they pull back on DEI, in some cases revamping these groups to focus solely on professional development or opening them up to all workers. In workplaces that have maintained these groups, however, there’s room for leaders to better support them—whether through dollars or mentorship. “We need more men to step up and serve as an executive sponsor for women’s resource groups,” Mallick writes. “We need senior leaders to offer dollars from their own budgets to help sponsor events when DEI budgets are being slashed.”