How are C-suites reacting to Trump’s DEI orders?

Solely 8% of C-suite leaders surveyed say they’re significantly contemplating altering their variety, fairness and inclusion applications because of President Donald Trump’s  government orders focusing on DEI, in line with a Feb. 26 report from Littler.

Whereas 53% of C-suite leaders surveyed after the inauguration stated the administration’s insurance policies and rhetoric are prone to lower company DEI commitments in 2025 — a 15 share level leap from pre-inauguration survey outcomes — 47% of executives stated commitments will both stay the identical or develop in 2025.

Nonetheless, greater than half surveyed stated they’re frightened in regards to the danger of DEI-related lawsuits, authorities enforcement and shareholder proposals. 

These considerations may be well-founded as lawsuits and shareholder proposals have already got challenged employers. Target, Costco and John Deere, to call a number of, confronted shareholder stress concerning these points from each DEI detractors and supporters. 

Republican attorneys common also sent a pointed letter to Costco demanding the corporate drop its DEI applications inside 30 days not lengthy after the corporate’s board refused a shareholder proposal asking the corporate to provide a report on the dangers of its DEI programming.

So far as inner DEI programming is worried, solely 22% of executives surveyed by Littler stated they’re contemplating eliminating DEI-focused roles, and 28% stated they’re contemplating worker useful resource group rollbacks.

However of those that are contemplating DEI pullbacks, 52% stated they’re eliminating DEI benchmarks and related metrics partially to keep away from any semblance of quotas — one thing the Trump administration has loudly denounced. Varied corporations, including Google, have already made this transfer. 

“The letter of the regulation” concerning DEI “stays unchanged,” Kate Mrkonich Wilson, Littler shareholder and member of the agency’s IE&D consulting follow, stated in an announcement. However the danger of lawsuits is “amplified” attributable to Trump’s regulatory priorities, she famous.

“Consequently, it’s extra essential than ever” for personal employers to overview their DEI practices “for any potential vulnerabilities to information compliance with longstanding anti-discrimination legal guidelines.”