OPINION: Ditching DEI is just bad business

Since the Orange Troglodyte re-entered the Oval Office, DEI has been firmly in his crosshairs, and in those of his obscenely wealthy sycophantic posse of white tech bros, biz bros and sex-offender bros.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) has, in a matter of weeks, become a lightning rod for controversy, and under this heartless administration, what was once widely accepted as a positive movement to create fairer, more-inclusive workplaces is now being demonised by an alarming number of businesses, politicians and media figures.
The term ‘DEI’ describes policies designed to improve representation and advocacy by promoting fair and equitable opportunity, participation and treatment of individuals of different races, genders, religions, ethnicities, disabilities, ages, cultures and sexual orientations in the workplace. Heinous stuff, right? Apparently so, because big names like Amazon, Google, McDonald’s, Meta, Target and Walmart, started to scale back their DEI programmes, driven by either a cowardly fear of controversy or an abundance of ignorance.
Right-wing commentators, certain politicians and even some high-profile business leaders have framed DEI as a ‘woke ideology’ that promotes ‘reverse discrimination’, or is ‘unnecessary’ in today’s workplace. In other words, they label it an extremist agenda rather than what it actually is: a very basic strategic effort to make workplaces more effective, innovative and welcoming. (Sidenote: there is a special place in both hell and the dunce’s corner for the privileged clowns using ‘woke’ as an insult, as if being aware of the systemic inequalities that plague society a character flaw.)
The pushback against DEI is built on a mix of misinformation, political opportunism, and corporate cowardice, and is part of a manufactured crisis and culture war, disguised as ‘cost-saving measures’ or ‘refocusing on core business priorities’. This column could justifiably argue that such actions are sinister, horrible, mean-spirited, aggressive, threatening, racist, sexist, homophobic and ageist and hope that most decent people would agree and be horrified. But just a quick flick through the news headlines would make you wonder if values like kindness and equality even matter anymore. So, let’s just bring it back to the money.
Rolling back on DEI is not just a bad look. It’s bad business. Regardless of one’s personal stance on the cultural conversation, the reality is that the rejection of DEI by companies is an economically stupid move that will not only alienate talent and consumers but will also sabotage the long-term success of the business.
In 2015, a report by global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, ‘Why Diversity Matters’, found that companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity were 35 percent more likely to have higher financial returns than their industry peers, and these findings held in subsequent reports by the same firm in 2018, 2019 and 2023.
In 2024, research highlighted by EURES, the European job mobility portal, indicated that diverse teams are 87 percent better at making work-related decisions, and that 76 percent of jobseekers consider a company’s diversity culture important when evaluating potential employers. This is particularly true of younger workers.
Harvard Business Review, meanwhile, has consistently highlighted the advantages of diverse teams in enhancing creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making.
All of these findings suggest that DEI policies not only improve decision-making processes but also enhance an organisation’s attractiveness to top talent, contributing to better economic outcomes.
One of the most common arguments against DEI is the claim that it undermines meritocracy; the claim being that hiring and promotion should be based solely on talent and performance, without considering diversity efforts. However, this argument is based on the false assumption that that the playing field is already level. Bias, both conscious and unconscious, still exists in hiring, promotions and workplace culture.
Women, people of colour and other underrepresented groups continue to face barriers that their peers do not (and companies, in their blindness and ignorance, miss out on their talents). DEI is explicitly designed to try and level the playing field. It is not about handing out unearned opportunities; it’s about ensuring that opportunity is actually based on merit by removing the systemic barriers that have historically prevented talented people from advancing.
And it makes complete sense. A company’s greatest asset is its human resource, and diverse teams bring different perspectives, experiences, and approaches – and greater resilience, because they have faced more barriers – arguably making them better equipped to handle complex challenges. Therefore, those who cave to the anti-DEI movement are making a grave mistake, by essentially choosing to be less competitive, less innovative and, ultimately, less profitable. They are also sending a message to employees, investors and consumers who still value decency that they lack vision, backbone and morality.
On the flipside, it is a long road that doesn’t turn. The current trend therefore now presents astute business leaders with a significant opportunity. Companies that protect and promote diversity as a core business strategy can win in the long run, and rather than retreating from DEI, smart enterprises will double down on it as a strategic investment by embedding diversity and inclusion into leadership training, hiring practices and company culture. Ideally, they will measure their progress with data and talk about the results. They will retain spend, even in challenging business circumstances, in order to attract and retain the best talent they can, from all across the spectrum of humanity. And they will reap the rewards.
And maybe, just maybe, putting profit aside, some of them might even believe that it’s just the right, decent and fair thing to do.