What now for DE&I?

Early last year we saw the start of the second term for Donald Trump as President of the United States of America.

He introduced sweeping changes within days including the cutting of DE&I federal programmes.

This created a ripple effect leading many major employers in the US to pause, drop or rename their DE&I programmes.

It also provided an opportunity for employers to take stock of what real progress had been made especially in the last 5 years or so.

During this time, we’ve also seen more people enter the profession. Some seeing it as a passion hobby but lacking the necessary skills and expertise to really drive change in their organisations.

And we also saw some being left out of the conversations especially men.

Last year was a challenging year for many businesses and employers with economic uncertainty, growing legislative requirements and shifting geo-political climate.

It also provided an opportunity for businesses to take stock on what real progress they’ve made against their DE&I commitments.

Whilst we have seen some US employers announced a rollback, it’s important to look beyond the headlines and understand what is really happening and how we got here.

According to a survey of US employers by resume.com the majority of businesses (65%) have indicated they are keeping their DE&I budgets whilst over a fifth (22%) are increasing it.

In the UK, there is still strong support for DE&I in the workplace with over half (53%) of employers in a survey who indicated they continue to support DE&I policies with just over a fifth looking to strengthen their initiatives (Source: Occupational Health Assessment) And in another survey 57% of employers see Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as critical for hiring new talent.

We are also seeing strong support from major US and UK employers who have publicly declared that their work continues and the importance of building a more diverse and inclusive workplace for the business.

What has happened in the US offers an opportunity for employers to reflect on progress to date, hold the mirror up and be honest about where their actions might have been more performative, focusing on quick wins and PR than transformative.

To do this it’s important to understand how we got here.

Over 5 ago we saw a huge response from employers following the tragic murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matters Movement protests around the world. We saw employers post black squares, host conversations on anti racism, invest in training, external speakers and coming up with a strategy or statement.

And in recent years, we have also seen more conversations on other topics, sometimes driven by external events like high profile cases of institutional racism within sport to sexual harassment in media, tv and business.

And we have seen a lot more issues brought to the forefront of employers’ agendas from neurodiversity to menopause in the workplace and the role of allyship. These are all really critical and provide an opportunity for employers to consider how their people policies and the culture can better support employees with different needs and experiences to thrive and create a speak up culture.

Yet from the outside, a lot of it has felt performative or window dressing. Whilst it is great to see conversations happening on important issues that affect people at work, what is often missing is the so what? What happens as result of the conversation? What change has it made to peoples’ experience of work? How has it really addresses long standing inequalities?

Surface level conversations, dashboards and plug and play learning is not getting to the root of organisations problems. It is just sticking a plaster over them.

Conversations do matter so long as they lead to action and are rooted in the challenges organisation face as well as supporting the solutions they are trying to implement. It must be led by what the data is telling us.

How does it level the playing field? They don’t. Simply put they make people feel good but once the event closes, training ends or conversation stops, silence.

As a DE&I Practitioner for over 20 years I have seen a lot of change from how the language has evolved to greater awareness of societal inequalities and strengthening of employment rights in the workplace.

At the same, I have seen in recent years an increase in anti-DE&I sentiment from different media outlets and political parties more so than before. But what it does it take the focus away from what really matters. It’s about levelling the playing field, using a data driven approach and aligning an employers’ DE&I efforts with its business plans.

So what now for 2026 and beyond?

If employers are to stay ahead and remain relevant, actions and conversations around DE&I need to focus more on how their efforts support the business to grow, innovate and tap into new markets.

It also requires ensuring the conversation focuses on how DE&I is about everyone.

We also have a strong legal framework in the UK that gives protection to workers from unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation.

The duty to prevent sexual harassment has been in effect for over a year and requires employers to take a more proactive approach.

And of course we just had the Employment Right Act come into effect in December 2025.

The Act brings together a wide-ranging set of rights and responsibilities including the requirement for employers to produce equality action plans for addressing the gender pay gap, greater protection against unfair dismissal during pregnancy and for new mums and menopause support action plans. It is designed to make work better for everyone by addressing inequalities certain groups face at work.

For the law to be effective, organisations need to do a deep dive into their people policies and practices and reflect on the culture, how decisions are made and how they are involving everyone in the conversation.

For DE&I to deliver lasting change, it must be aligned to the business than seen as an add on or used when it’s convenient.

Focusing on the data, measuring and reporting on outcomes on things like retention, employee feedback and productivity will enhance company’s DE&I efforts and build trust and confidence amongst candidates, workforce and stakeholders.

Our Inclusion Health Check audit can help your organisation do just that, pinpoint the gaps in your people policies, connect the dots and help you come up with a road map of measurable, tangible actions and metrics so you can build better workplaces that enable everyone to thrive.