DEI Without the ‘E:’ Why Some Companies Are Abandoning Equity and What It Means for Women Leaders

When The Society for Human Resources Management announced on LinkedIn that it was dropping the “E” in IE&D “effective immediately,” the backlash quickly poured in, as HR professionals blasted the organization’s decision to deprioritize equity.

“This sends a loud and clear message: We will allow diverse people to enter the room (inclusion) but you can’t have a seat at the table (equity),” wrote Iris Jones, Executive Director in New Jersey Department of Health Office of Women’s Health.

SHRM, an industry association that provides education, certification, and networking to its members, said in the LinkedIn announcement that the move “underscores our commitment to leading with Inclusion as the catalyst for holistic change in workplaces and society.”

But commenters called the decision “disappointing,” and “reactionary,” coming at a time when programs that specifically aim to help marginalized people are increasingly under attack. Almost a dozen HR executives, employment law experts and members of the C-suite told Chief the change was a cause for concern.

“There is no inclusion without equity,” said Chief member Tiffany Frasier, an HR exec specializing in people strategy, operations and change management. “A lot of executives, especially women executives, wouldn't be at the table if there wasn't something in place for equity to get us there.”

DEI Under Attack

During the pandemic, cultural demand for diversity, equity and inclusion was at a high, with George Floyd’s murder in 2020 serving as a catalyst for a surge in DEI initiatives at major companies. But Frasier says the groundswell we saw in 2020 has completely pivoted in the opposite direction — as a growing anti-DEI movement has notched a number of legal victories. Recently, the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action programs at colleges, and a U.S. federal court of appeals panel ruled against a grant program that benefited Black women entrepreneurs. Former president Donald Trump has promised to eradicate DEI programs during his current bid for the White House.

“That’s intentional. There is a shift in the political climate around those particular efforts. We can see that diversity is a bad word in a lot of different spaces,” Frasier says.

Prior to the SHRM decision, some big tech and other Fortune 500 companies had started scaling back or revamping their DEI programs and equity efforts, often continuing them under different names to avoid controversy or legal challenges.

Anne Kane, COO of a remote-first Web3 marketing company called Firepan, says some companies are remarketing DEI with language like “belonging and inclusion,” while others are rolling DEI goals into corporate social responsibility.

Among All-American brands, Molson Coors now calls its diversity efforts “People and Planet,” Starbucks no longer uses the term “equity,” and Tractor Supply Co., per customer feedback, promised to cut DEI jobs altogether. Software behemoth Microsoft was reported by various outlets to have laid off an “entire” DEI team, citing work associated with DEI programs as “no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020.”

But a source close to the matter at Microsoft told Chief the original reporting was misleading. The source clarified that the layoffs impacted two roles on the Microsoft Events team that worked on efforts duplicative of the Global Diversity and Inclusion strategy. The roles did not report to Microsoft Global Talent, Development, Diversity and Inclusion, the team that continues to handle the company’s D&I commitments.

No Diversity Without Equity

Companies have shifted towards terms like “belonging,” “inclusion,” and “equality,” Frasier says, because it removes the responsibility to actually achieve representation for women, people of color and other marginalized groups.

“Equality is giving everybody the same thing. Equity is meeting people where they are so that they can get to the same outcome,” Frasier explains. “And when you take a focus off of equity, it takes away that ability to get to that outcome for some people.”

Christopher Lyle, an employment law attorney representing clients facing workplace discrimination, harassment and disputes, says his firm has seen a trend of legal complaints against companies where the “inclusive” culture was superficial, including multiple lawsuits at one tech company for ignoring pay gaps and promotion issues impacting women.

“We've seen a marked increase in complaints where companies failed to address equity,” Lyle said.

Lyle and Frasier say HR departments can expect a swath of additional problems that spawn from deprioritizing equity, including difficulty recruiting, hiring, retaining and promoting employees from underrepresented backgrounds.

“Many employees, especially younger generations, expect companies to take a stand on social issues like racial and gender justice,” Lyle says. “If companies won't commit to equity, top talent will look elsewhere.”

One problem with focusing solely on “inclusion” or “belonging” is that it could encourage companies to look for candidates who are a “culture add” or “culture fit” — code for hiring more of what already exists in the company, creating a space “where everybody thinks the same, looks the same, acts the same,” Frasier says.

“If you deprioritize equity, it just makes it that much easier not to look for different skill sets, different ways of thinking. And when that happens, [candidates think]: ‘I don't feel like I belong here, so let me find the next place where I can be impactful, I can be celebrated, I can feel like I'm gonna get developed.’”

Instead, Frasier suggests, talent acquisition should be asking questions like: “What is it that we don't have in this organization that this person brings? And how do we nurture that?”

What’s Next for DEI

Frasier predicts the HR profession will see some divest and delist their SHRM certifications as a result of the decision to drop equity. For those HR practitioners willing to part ways with the professional association, she recommends seeking out certifications from alternate orgs like HRCI, and innovative disruptors like Disrupt HR and Hacking HR. She predicts new certifications will become available, such as opportunities for new HR specialties like how to responsibly leverage AI in HR disciplines.

“This is honestly kind of the kick in the pants that HR needed to understand that the human in HR has to be put first,” Frasier says. “We are the innovators. HR is not a cost center; HR is an innovation center; and how do we continue to be at the forefront of innovation in this people space?”

Ultimately, she says HR will evolve. And while the outlook feels bleak for DEI in this particular era, companies that remain committed to the cause will win — with better business outcomes.

“The data on diverse workforces and their benefits is consistent, readily available and used by HR to measure and show value back to the business,” Frasier says. “HR leaders must stay the course, remain diligent, and continue to speak to this data in the same manner that Finance speaks to the bottom line or Technology speaks to efficiency and/or innovation.”