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Five Steps to Overcome DEI Resistance

Accurate information and leadership buy-in are essential.
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JERSEY CITY, NJ. — Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming is edging close to a precipice.

In the months leading up to President Donald's Trump's second term, many private companies eliminated their DEI programs — from Target, Meta, McDonald's, Walmart and Ford to Lowes, Tractor Supply and John Deere. During a moment when it's easier to give in to the pressure, some companies are standing firm in their commitment to DEI, including Costco, Apple, Microsoft and Cisco.

In his first days in office, Trump issued several executive orders, many of which take aim at DEI. In one executive order, Trump terminated all DEI, accessibility and environmental justice offices and positions in the federal government. In another order, all federal workers and contractors in DEI and anyone that provided DEI services were placed on paid administrative leave.

With the DEI backlash likely to continue into 2025 and beyond, Janice Gassam Asare, senior contributor at Forbes, explores five strategies that changemakers can utilize to combat the DEI resistance that is impacting workplaces:

1. Understand Root Causes of Resistance

Research presented in the Harvard Business Review indicates that overcoming DEI resistance requires an understanding of why people are resistant in the first place. When it comes to DEI there are three types of threats that emerge:

  1. Status threat
  2. Merit threat
  3. Moral threat
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The researchers noted three types of resistance that are common are denying, defending and distancing. One of the strategies suggested by researchers for overcoming DEI resistance is stressing to detractors how DEI, at its core, is beneficial for everyone and how it is not a zero-sum game that only benefits some. 

[Read more: DEI Efforts Face Headwinds Among U.S. Employees]

"Look specifically for DEI interventions that have been implemented in your workplace — how have these interventions improved employees' experiences and how can you articulate this for the DEI detractors?" Gassam Asare wrote.

2. Education is Vital

Much of the DEI resistance can be dispelled with accurate information. In general, there is a lack of understanding and awareness regarding what DEI is and how DEI, when done right, can positively impact organizations and institutions.

[VIDEO: DEI Fiction vs. Fact]

According to Gassam Asar, some widely held myths perpetuated by the DEI opposition include:

  • DEI only benefits Black people.
  • DEI gives unfair advantages to nonwhite employees,
  • DEI is anti-white.

Education about the origins of DEI and success stories focused on how DEI has positively impacted workplace experiences are necessary and vital to highlight to combat DEI resistance. Practitioners must also be candid and honest about DEI failings and instances where it has led to negative outcomes. Ensuring that employees and leaders alike are equipped with accurate information about DEI is vital for dispelling DEI myths and resistance, Gassam Asar said.

3. Get Leadership Buy-In

There is a wealth of empirical studies that highlight the pivotal role that leaders play in driving DEI efforts in the workplace. Any programs to better workplace equity will fail if there is no leadership buy-in.

To gain the resources, funding and support that is needed for DEI interventions to thrive, leaders must be on board. Leaders set the tone for the organization’s culture and can create a powerful example for employees to follow — when leaders are committed to cultivating workplaces built on fairness, access, and equity, it can make employees less resistant to DEI efforts.

[Read more: A CEO's Take on the ROI of DEI]

"On the other hand, when leaders aren't bought into DEI interventions, their aversion, apprehension and apathy trickles down to everyone in the workplace. In addition, when leaders aren't 'bought-in' to equity efforts, they won't be able to empower DEI champions or relinquish the control and power necessary to allow DEI champions to thrive," she wrote.

4. Empower DEI Champions

According to Gassam Asar, organizations and institutions should be focused on empowering DEI champions to mitigate DEI resistance. A 2025 article by the University of Pennsylvania: College of Liberal and Professional Studies indicated that one of the strategies that can be utilized for DEI impact is to empower DEI champions, who can then serve as a bridge between leaders and employees. This should include actions like providing DEI champions with the power, resources and funding necessary to address systemic barriers and granting them the ability to rectify issues they identify. 

"One of the reasons why chief diversity officers and others in similar positions fail is because they are put in place merely as figureheads, without being given the tools to thrive in their roles and impact change," she said. "Provide DEI champions with what they need to drive workplace change and they will be better equipped to combat resistance and lead workplace efforts that improve employee experiences."

5. Communicate DEI Progress

According to 2024 research from Catalyst, workplace transparency can be a powerful way to address DEI backlash. The firm noted that "when an organization shines a light on its DEI activities and willingly shares successes and setbacks, employees can more easily assess whether the organization is being authentic and truly working toward meeting DEI goals."

Creating an environment of transparency in the workplace fosters "trust, commitment and engagement from employees," the research revealed. Many workplaces, especially at the end of the calendar year and the start of a new calendar year are so focused on the DEI objectives that weren't achieved that they become myopic in their thinking as it relates to DEI, Gassam Asar wrote.

"Just because you didn't achieve all your goals doesn't mean the incremental steps made toward cultivating a more just, fair and equitable workplace shouldn't be celebrated. Big and small wins are commendable and can help DEI cynics see that although DEI, in its current iteration, is far from perfect, there is still headway being made. While we must always strive for more, we should also applaud the examples of DEI done right," she concluded.

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