The Challenge of Deprioritizing DEI Commitments

Following significant attention on inequity and inequality in 2020, many companies took bold positions on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Four years later, after heightened politicization and anti-DEI attacks, corporations face a crucial decision: to sustain a company’s DEI principles or risk reputational damage by deprioritizing them. 

While some may view DEI as an optional add-on to core business objectives, the truth is vastly different. DEI has become a strategic necessity in business. Deprioritizing DEI poses significant risks that extend far beyond the immediate backlash, impacting a company’s reputation, leadership credibility, loss of innovation and perspective and sustainability in the long term.