Inclusion and representation is a standard that should be upheld by everyone, but with President Donald Trump’s executive order 13985, it has become clear that in corporate America, a check was always more important than diversity. This executive order, which put an end to government DEI programs, issued several companies to roll back their own DEI efforts. This quick turnaround was abrupt but not completely unexpected, showing how temporary these programs were in the first place.
DEI or diversity, equity and inclusion was introduced during the Civil Rights movement to reduce restrictions that may keep people of color, people of different gender identities and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds from holding higher up positions. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement that had a resurgence in 2020, there was a push to make companies more inclusive. George Floyd and Breanna Taylor’s murders brought national attention to the need for more diversity in virtually every space. 88 of the S&P 100 companies calculated job growth in 2020 and 2021 where it was reported that over 300,000 jobs were added with 94% of them belonging to people of color.
This growth continued all throughout former President Joe Biden’s term where in 2021 he declared an Executive Order to promote equal opportunity. In his term the percentage of managerial and professional roles that people of color held increased by 2%. In accordance with decisions on the federal level, support of DEI initiatives was at an all-time high during the Biden administration.
On Jan. 20, Trump signed an Executive Order called “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and immediately fired all federal DEI staff. Other governmental organizations including the Air Force complied. For example, they took down training ideas that included the Tuskgee Airmen and other black Women Airforce Service Pilots in. This quick erasure of years of history suggests the ease of removing DEI initiatives and reveals just how performative these videos were.
While some quickly protested, many companies did not wait to comply with the removal of DEI. Amazon has removed mentions of Black people, LGBTQ+ people and DEI from their websites. On Jan. 24, not even a week after the executive order, Target announced a roll back of their programs after three years of agreeing to spend billions on black-owned brands and hiring more people of color employees. Similar to other brands that mirrored Biden’s support of DEI in 2020, Target CEO, Brian Cornell said George Floyd’s murder felt “personal” and in turn, he decided to intensify their diversity and equity efforts.
If the Black Lives Matter protests were truly as personal as Cornell claims they were, one would argue that more would be done to keep them in place. As is being done with other executive orders on a state level, Target could reject the order and keep their DEI temporarily in place. For example, companies like Costco have rejected the push against DEI instead of making the immediate switch.
Repealing the programs they were seemingly in full support of at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, and during a democratic presidency seems all too convenient. But now, in a disheartening sign of the times, these companies can stop pretending to care.
Since the new president deemed DEI on a federal level as “radical” and “wasteful,” many brands, companies and services seem to think their initiatives are as well. While the executive order is not a legal compliance to take away DEI, they see its use in the workplace as a fad that changes based on what is popular and profitable. If diversity equity and inclusion can be removed this quickly it goes to show there was a lack of heart behind the installation of these programs. People whose jobs counted on them being given a chance in places that would have overlooked them – thanks to the protection of DEI – are affected when these beliefs are challenged in favor of a less diverse workplace.
This is more than just companies complying with executive orders; it is showing the true colors of businesses that put on a mask of sincerity when to them, it was only a trend. The livelihood of minority workers and the diversity of our workplaces will be criminally affected by these changes. Who can say that with a new executive order further down the line companies will not go back and pretend to care again?