If 2025 has been anything, it’s been unpredictable. Businesses are navigating geopolitical tensions, the back-and-forth on tariffs, and political discourse permeating workplaces.
As if that wasn’t enough to make business leaders somewhat queasy, the attacks on DEI have ramped up since the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in college admissions in the summer of 2023, and have taken on new life since President Trump’s reelection in November.
DEI practitioners and the millions of employees they support are being impacted by ongoing political rhetoric, government directives, and business fears. So far, at least 50 companies have adjusted DEI language or rolled back initiatives since January, while others have stood firm on their principles.
Climate of fear. President Trump issued at least four executive orders aimed at quelling DEI across the federal government and private sector since he returned to office in January, and several states, including Indiana, Arizona, and Kentucky passed anti-DEI measures.
In response, several organizations have sued the administration over the executive orders, which are now working their way through the courts. In early June, a federal judge in California ruled that the Trump administration cannot withhold federal grants just because a recipient has DEI programming, and narrowly struck down some of the executive orders.
President Trump also directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to stop investigating disparate-impact discrimination claims, HR Brew reported in April . The rule under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was designed to prevent workplace policies that could disproportionately impact protected groups, and some experts fear that the administration’s move could allow for more workplace discrimination.
In April, the EEOC issued guidance surrounding so-called “DEI-related discrimination,” which was vague and did not change existing civil rights law. That same month, several law firms eliminated or rebranded their DEI messaging after the EEOC threatened to investigate the firms over their DEI policies, HR Brew reported.
Verizon also struck a deal with the government this year. In May, the company notified the Federal Communications Commission that it had disbanded its DEI team and will no longer conduct DEI-related training.
“Just the vague threat of an executive order tossing around the term ‘illegal DEI’ is making a lot of companies scared to continue with it. So unfortunately, I do think we’ll probably see more,” moves similar to Verizon’s, David Glasgow, a lawyer and executive director at New York University’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, told HR Brew.
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What’s in a name? Many companies have changed what they call their “diversity, equity, and inclusion” departments, in favor of softer language that could potentially evade scrutiny. Beer and spirits maker Constellation Brands, rebranded its team to “inclusive culture,” while Kohls now calls it “inclusion and belonging.”
Constellation Brands and Kohls aren’t alone, as 78% of C-suite leaders said they plan to rebrand their DEI programs, according to a recent survey from NYU’s Meltzer Center and workplace gender equity firm, Catalyst. Despite the name changes, executives said they will not reduce their investment into the programs.
“A lot of what is being said is ‘rollback’ is not. It’s rebranding…and it’s okay. The most important thing is that this work continues,” Alaysia Black Hackett, former chief diversity and equity officer at the Department of Labor, recently told HR Brew. “I really believe that DEIA is resilient. It may not be called DEIA, it may not have any kind of language to put with it, but the work will continue because it’s resilient.”
There are also several companies that appear to be walking away from their previous DEI commitments altogether. Since January, several employers, including Target, Deloitte, and IBM, which had all previously committed to DEI, dissolved the teams, and reassigned DEI practitioners to other HR functions.
Not backing down. Still, some companies, including Apple, Costco, and Sephora, appear undeterred, and some DEI leaders are optimistic about future progress. Other employers that are sticking by their DEI programs, like Southwest Airlines and Marriott, believe the initiatives are core to their business and part of their company values.
“The winds blow, but there are some fundamental truths for those 98 years. We welcome all to our hotels, and we create opportunities for all—and fundamentally, those will never change. The words might change, but that’s who we are as a company,” said Anthony Capuano, CEO at Marriott, during remarks at the Great Place to Work for All summit.
The practices are still somewhat popular among workers, as Capuano quickly realized, when he received 40,000 messages from employees, thanking him for the remarks.
Like everything else in 2025, the DEI conversation will likely continue evolving and keep employers guessing, but HR Brew is here to keep you informed.