Published on: July 8, 2025 at 9:33 pm
Many U.S. organizations find themselves at a crossroads as public skepticism and outright political attacks challenge their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Even after U.S. President Donald Trump signed executive orders designed to eradicate DEI programs in the public and private sectors, Academy of Management Scholar Carol Kulik of the University of South Australia said that organizations should not retreat from their DEI efforts but rather lean into them. After Target abandoned its DEI programs earlier this year, it came under heavy criticism and has suffered from an ongoing boycott.
“I know it’s hard in the face of social and political pressure, but this is the worst time for organizations to abandon their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” Kulik said. “In general, DEI efforts are at the point where they’re just starting to get momentum and traction, and we’re starting to be able to document the impact.
“But now what we’re seeing is a disruption in that process and potentially a backslide,” she said.
This public challenge to DEI gives organizations an opportunity to demonstrate the sincerity and authenticity of their DEI efforts and commitment to all their stakeholders.
“When we have any kind of regulatory or social pressure on organizations to support diversity, sustainability, or any kind of social movement, it’s very hard for people to distinguish the organizations that are doing those things because they ‘want to’ versus the organizations that are doing it because they ‘have to’,” Kulik said.
“This is exactly the time when organizations should double down, because they have an opportunity to leapfrog ahead of the competition and demonstrate that they are staying on course and that their commitment was and still is authentic,” she said.
“Organizations that maintain or ramp up their DEI efforts will have an edge in the market.”
