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Major companies are defying the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in government and the private sector. Their reason: DEI is good for business.

Within hours of his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders to end DEI throughout the federal government and in business and the nonprofit sector. Trump views DEI policies as discriminatory and claims they are, therefore, unconstitutional – a position disputed by the American Civil Liberties Union and attorneys general from twelve states. The latter group issued a joint letter saying the “executive orders are unnecessary and disingenuous” and ignorant of the longstanding civil rights laws available to the administration to combat real discrimination. Nonetheless, Trump has threatened legal action against people and non-governmental organizations that fail to comply with his directives.

In the first few days after Trump was sworn in, Costco’s shareholders voted almost unanimously against a proposal submitted by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would lead to the termination of its DEI policies. In recommending that shareholders vote against the proposal, Costco’s Board of Directors outlined the benefits of DEI policies to a productive workplace culture and innovations in its product offerings.

Also just days after the inauguration, in response to pressure from another conservative group, the National Legal and Policy Center, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to DEI as sound business practice not influenced by partisan considerations. And in mid-January, Apple’s board of directors recommended shareholders vote down a proposal aimed at abolishing the company’s DEI program and policies; the proposal came from the same think tank that submitted to Costco. The shareholder vote is scheduled for February 25.

Other companies reasserting their commitments to DEI include Goldman Sachs, Ben & Jerry’s, e.l.f. Beauty, and Johnson & Johnson. Last summer, J & J published a DEI impact review that described the importance of diverse representation in reducing healthcare inequities and improving outcomes in previously underrepresented communities.

Adding to the corporate resistance, a report from EY, one of the world’s largest accounting and consultancy firms. says DEI improves productivity and workforce innovation in volatile economic conditions. Titled “DE&I Interventions That Deliver”, its release, one week into the Trump presidency, undermines the conservative campaign against “woke” DEI practices and lays out an argument against the new administration’s efforts to eliminate DEI policies in government and the private sector.

The report emphasizes the need to look beyond the numbers of minority hires to the underlying behaviors that do and do not put individual differences in a positive light. Based on literature reviews and an evaluation of actions taken, EY identified four areas that underwent measurable improvement with DEI policies in place: job performance, business growth and innovation, employee experience, and employee retention. The report also highlighted strategic DEI policies that contribute to building a more inclusive culture; many of the policies are designed to proactively remove friction between managers and employees and different employee cohorts.

In releasing the report, Anna Anthony, EY’s regional managing partner for the United Kingdom & Ireland, made the argument for DEI in business quite succinctly: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just ethical values – they are critical drivers of innovation, productivity, and economic growth.”

Despite these positive benefits, other companies, including Target and Amazon, are bowing to the intense political pressure and are re-evaluating or scaling back their DEI policies.

Law Firm Posts Guidance on DEI

In anticipation of Trump’s actions against DEI, the Washington, DC-based law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP (Skadden) posted on its website earlier in January some suggestions – not legal advice – for how companies could prepare and protect themselves while sustaining their goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Author: George Linzer
Published: February 4, 2025

Feature image: Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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Sources

The URLs included with the sources below were good links when we published. However, as third party websites are updated over time, some links may be broken. We do not update these broken links. If you are interested in the source, it may be possible to find it by copying and pasting the URL into a search on the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. From the search results, be sure to choose a date near the accessed date.

ReNika Moore, “Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained”, ACLU, Jan 24, 2025, https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/trumps-executive-orders-rolling-back-dei-and-accessibility-efforts-explained, accessed Jan 31, 2025

Press release, “Joint Statement from 12 Attorneys General: President Trump is Misleading the American People on Purpose of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Initiatives”, Office of the New York State Attorney General, Jan 31, 2025, https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/joint-statement-12-attorneys-general-president-trump-misleading-american-people, accessed Feb 4, 2025

Anne D’Innocenzio, “Costco successfully defends its diversity policies as other US companies scale theirs back”, AP, Jan 23, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/costco-shareholder-proposal-diversity-dei-0330f448741b35f2f788a36948ff3f95, accessed Feb 3, 2025

Costco Wholesale, “Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders”, Dec 11, 2024 https://s201.q4cdn.com/287523651/files/doc_financials/2024/ar/FY24-Proxy-Statement.pdf, accessed Feb 4, 2025

Jack Kelly, “JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Stands Firm Amid Conservative Pressure To Dismantle DEI Initiatives”, Forbes, Jan 23, 2025, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2025/01/23/jpmorgans-jamie-dimon-stands-firm-amid-conservative-pressure-to-dismantle-dei-initiatives/, accessed Feb 3, 2025

Aria Brent, “Companies Continuing DEI Initiatives Amid Conservative Attacks”, The Seattle Medium, Jan 30, 2025, https://seattlemedium.com/companies-continue-dei-amid-conservative-attacks/, accessed Feb 3, 2025

Kay Wicker, “A growing list of the companies who have either discontinued or committed to DEI strategies”, The Grio, Jan 27, 2025, https://thegrio.com/2025/01/27/a-growing-list-of-the-companies-who-have-either-discontinued-or-committed-to-dei-strategies/, accessed Feb 3, 2025

Johnson and Johnson, “DEI Milestones”, Jun 2024, https://belong.jnj.com/2023/about/dei-milestones.html, accessed Feb 3, 2025

EY, “DE&I interventions that deliver”, Jan 2025, https://www.ey.com/content/dam/ey-unified-site/ey-com/en-uk/newsroom/2025/01/de-and-i-interventions-that-deliver.pdf, accessed Jan 31,2025

Polly Thompson, “Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC make up the Big 4 — here’s how they compare”, Business Insider, Dec 17, 2024, https://www.businessinsider.com/big-four-deloitte-pwc-kpmg-ey-staff-revenues-focus-2024-11, accessed Jan 31,2025

Press release, “EY report highlights role of DEI in boosting productivity and talent”, EY, Jan 28, 2025, https://www.ey.com/en_uk/newsroom/2025/01/ey-report-highlights-critical-role-of-dei-in-uk-business, accessed Jan 31, 2025

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