Last fall, SHRM (a national human resources association) abandoned “equity” in their terminology. They were an early adopter of the anti-DEI movement.
Now that the federal government is about to be controlled by conservative majorities, we’re seeing major companies surrendering the field.
Many are taking it further than just nomenclature. McDonalds has claimed they’re just changing the name of the department to the “Global Inclusion Group,” but in fact they’re dropping the actions that matter even more: representation goals and surveys for accountability.

Amazon, Walmart, and Meta are also trying to say their “commitments” haven’t changed, while eliminating programs, staff, departments, trainings, and—most importantly—actual effort to offset bias and unfairness built into their systems and practices.
To be honest, it never mattered that much what the teams were called. Adding “B” for Belonging, “A” for Accessibility,” or “J” for “Justice” are tactics to communicate priorities, not the work itself. Just as the many statements of antiracism in 2020 were only as valuable as the follow-through, reframing them to distance those same companies from “wokeness” now isn’t what’s most alarming. The reversal of policies is.
Fortunately, some companies are walking their talk—and walking forward instead of backward. Both Costco and Apple have pushed back against shareholders who want DEI work to end. And Target is defending its proudly diverse marketing against legal challenges.
The leaders of these companies understand that DEI isn’t ideology, and it isn’t “reverse discrimination.” It’s good business practice to hire, develop, and engage employees who are treated fairly and feel part of the community.
And they have the integrity to stand behind the investments they’ve made—whatever they’ve called them—instead of self-censoring their programs in fear of possible legal challenges.
I expect more of this retrenchment this year. Whether out of fear, genuine change in values, or cynical pandering to power, some will pull away from progress.
I hope we can be vigilant in our own organizations. If you want to use different language to be clearer and less inflammatory, fine.
But make sure the actions that ensure equitable opportunity for everyone continue. Otherwise we are turning back the clock.
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