How to steer your brand through the anti-DEI headwinds
Volume 2: Issue 2
The anti-DEI movement in the U.S. has its genesis in the landmark June 2023 Supreme Court decisions, which eliminated the use of affirmative action in college admissions. Corporate DEI programs and initiatives have come under fierce attack by “anti-woke” activists in the U.S. Conservative influencers – led by Robby Starbuck – organized targeted boycotts, pressure campaigns and shareholder proposals to spur corporate America to eliminate DEI programs.
This movement has accelerated exponentially since the Inauguration. Through executive orders, and frequent use of the bully pulpit, President Trump and his administration, including AG Bondi and the DOJ, are continuing to drive the anti-DEI narrative. Mindful of the shifting court of public opinion as well as potential legal liability, companies and other organizations are carefully reviewing existing DEI commitments. Many have already modified their goals and initiatives in light of anti-DEI activist campaigns and the Trump administration’s recent actions. At the same time, according to a February 2025 Harris poll, U.S. consumers are paying attention to this issue, and some are starting to respond with their wallets.
We have been advising many companies as they review their DEI commitments in the current environment. Actions (and inactions) in this area present legal and reputational risk. Each organization must decide the right course of action to take to provide opportunities for all their employees, and to maintain the respect and loyalty of their customers, communities and other stakeholders.
Given these challenges, we have set forth to arm you with both the framework to set your course and the actions to take right now to protect your people, your brand and your business. Because when it comes navigating the chaos, we’re your compass.
As always, take care of yourselves. And if you can, take care of someone else today.
Best,
Peter Duda, President, Weber Shandwick, Global Corporate Crisis and Issues
Corporate Issues team members DJ Sprenger, Emily Ahmad, Sara Miller and Tori Sousa also contributed to this month’s newsletter.
P.S. Compass for the Chaos posts monthly on Substack. Read past issues here.
This is the ninth issue of Compass for the Chaos – Weber Shandwick’s monthly newsletter highlighting recent trends and topics impacting global organizations.
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The Situation
With its origins in the civil rights movement of the 1960s—DEI, or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion—has evolved into a political wedge issue and a reputational threat for companies. Furthermore, it has forced many organizations to examine and even reframe their values framework.
The anti-DEI, anti-“woke” movement began to get traction during the first Trump administration, when the GOP used it to fire up the base with a narrative that white Americans had fallen victim to reverse discrimination in the name of racial justice.
In June 2023, with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action in college admissions, the narrative gained legal heft, empowering America First Legal, a Trump-aligned initiative, to threaten major corporations with litigation, and National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, to rattle corporate boards by inciting shareholders to fight ESG as well as DEI initiatives. Conservative influencers like Robby Starbuck then mobilized their followers to boycott brands and pressure companies to eliminate DEI programs and return to a state of “corporate neutrality.” Hence by Trump’s Inauguration, it was all but a given that his Day One agenda would include executive orders aimed at eliminating DEI, both in the public and private sectors.
A few days after the Inauguration, Executive Order 14173, "Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” coupled with Attorney General Pam Bondi’s mandate to investigate companies that support DEI, is hurling companies into crisis. Companies have responded in a variety of different ways. Some have abolished their DEI programs, such as Accenture, Meta, and Google, while others, like Starbucks, AT&T, and McDonald’s have modified them or doubled down in defending them, as Costco has.
What’s the best course for your brand?
Determining the right approach requires an intensive analysis of the company’s customer base, employee expectations, growth plan, business needs and values framework. Certainly, there is no easy path forward, as taking steps to fend off, say, one group of stakeholders could provoke others to activism (Target has been targeted by both shareholders and customers, first for having DEI initiatives and then for scrapping them).
Here’s what we counsel every one of our clients to do right away:
Conduct a thorough review of all DEI programs and initiatives. EO 14173 calls for the elimination of “illegal” DEI practices. Vet your DEI programs and policies with an eye to existing anti-discrimination laws to ensure none violate them. Discriminatory practices are those that call for benefits to be conferred or selections to be made based on a person’s race, color, sex, sexual preference, religion, or national origin. Flag for legal review any that might be perceived as discriminatory.
Audit external-facing commitments. Scrutinize everything that could be construed (or misconstrued) as evidence of discriminatory practices. If you participate in an annual index whereby your brand is ranked for its DEI efforts, for example, be sure you have a clear view of the underlying criteria. Concerned that a high score implies hiring quotas or the preferential treatment of certain employees, some companies are withdrawing from these external assessments.
Audit external-facing communications channels. Reassess posts, photos, and social media campaigns for content that may invite newly empowered anti-DEI activism. Does it align with your corporate and brand values? Where appropriate, take remediation measures.
Review your DEI narrative. Is your support of DEI expressly linked to your business strategy? To your performance goals? To your growth plan? Ensure tying DEI to your brand aligns with the way you have communicated historically and throughout past business actions.
Evaluate corporate contributions, partnerships and third-party support. Make sure your partners reflect your company’s stance toward DEI in their communications and branding, as you will be judged by the company you keep. Their DEI narratives should make the business case, and their DEI goals should directly intersect the business.
Review how you position ERGs to external stakeholders. Employee Resource Groups, which are typically organized around affinities such as race, gender, or sexual orientation, aren’t illegal provided they are open to all employees; provide leadership development without discriminating; and are funded and supported without employee coercion. Be sure your language—both internal- and external-facing—positions them as such. Consider rebranding them as BRGs, or resource groups whose mission is to further business goals in alignment with business strategy.
Map your stakeholders before taking action. Whatever modifications you decide to make, be sure to have a thorough understanding of the needs and flashpoints of your core stakeholders. To the extent possible, bring along key groups in your decision-making as the situation progresses. This will allow you to create an environment of trust and to gain the support of potential allies and advocates.
Scenario plan for a variety of eventualities: being targeted by anti-DEI activists on social media, drawing the legal scrutiny of elected officials, or inciting shareholder activism.
How to protect your band from shifting sentiments long-term
Make the business case. In addition to targeting companies over ideological differences, anti-DEI activists argue that DEI initiatives are bad for business and cause companies to underperform in the stock market. To mitigate this, take every opportunity, as e.l.f Beauty has, to articulate how inclusion and diversity initiatives align to the business strategy, support operational goals, and drive growth and financial performance. Proactively communicating the business case—and empowering all your leaders and spokespeople to do so—will help prevent or deflect accusations that your DEI program is more than altruistic value-signaling at the expense of customers and shareholders.
Communicate that legal compliance does not negate inclusion. If you decide to modify your DEI commitments, it’s imperative to communicate that 1) you’re doing so to be fully compliant with the law and 2) that compliance isn’t mutually exclusive of inclusion. Your intent, in accordance with the law, is to provide equal opportunity for all.
Prepare the C-suite to discuss DEI during earnings calls. Maybe your CEO has never been questioned on it before. With the new anti-DEI Executive Orders, a spike in shareholder activism, and a rash of lawsuits, he or she will be now. Make sure leaders are prepared to parry reporters’ questions, as CEO Bob Jordan did during Southwest Airlines’ Q4 call January 30th.
Balance short-term imperatives with your long-term strategy. Here and abroad, companies must win over a demographically diverse customer base to stay competitive. They must also attract and retain talent that’s ever-more diverse. To succeed at both, they’ll need the diversity of perspectives that usually come from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences. That’s important to keep in mind as the anti-DEI clamor reaches a frenzied pitch. The political winds will shift, and the pendulum of public sentiment will swing, but every major brand’s long-term prospects depend on embracing—and engaging—stakeholder diversity.
Regardless of the ultimate legal outcome for DEI-related policies in the US, the politicization of DEI-related issues will persist, putting brands at constant risk of reputational damage. We’re here to help you manage that risk. Our virtual war room, where our crisis response team members convene and strategize daily, monitors the issues that leaders must navigate, providing proprietary intel crucial to informing their decisions.
Our team has been developing weekly updates that provide in-depth analysis of corporate actions and impacts; an overview of the traditional media stories that mattered; and an AI-assisted look into the social media conversations driving public opinion. Our experts are helping leaders discern signals from noise, and the opportunities within every crisis. By providing AI-informed insight, seasoned perspective, and live counsel, we not only steer our clients through crises, but also position their brands for long-term success.
What we’re reading to…
DEI Watch (Website)
DEI Watch is a website that tracks corporate responses to DEI initiatives and policy changes. The website monitors corporate commitments and political donations to provide transparency into “who’s standing firm, who’s scaling back and who’s actively dismantling diversity efforts.”
Axios Closer (Newsletter)
This end-of-day daily newsletter allows readers to catch up on the day’s biggest business stories and look ahead to important trends. Written by reporters Hope King and Nathan Bomey, recent issues have kept a pulse on corporate DEI initiatives and the broader implications of DEI rollbacks on businesses.