‘The D-word is the most problematic’: Why diversity could soon be stripped from DEI values and branding

The executive order felt like a long time coming under Trump’s second term with pressure mounting from conservative activists and right-wing voices, pushing companies like Target, Walmart, Ford Motors, John Deere, Molson Coors (and the list goes on) to back away or retool their DE&I commitments. Notably, many of these commitments were created in response to the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd.

To Black agency leaders and multicultural marketers, all roads point to DE&I being in dire need of a rebrand, one with more nuance than it was given just a few years ago. The words, it seems, have lost their meaning under the scrutiny of conservative activists and now, the White House. Ultimately, it seems DE&I is no longer seen, by the Trump administration and brands that have backed away from those efforts, as a tool to create equal opportunities for historically marginalized communities but a synonym for “woke.” On the heels of George Floyd’s murder, woke was defined as an awakening to social injustice. It has since been co-opted to negatively describe efforts deemed overtly progressive or performative.

“It seems like the ‘D’ word is the most problematic one,” said Lewis. The “D” word here in reference to “diversity” in “diversity, equity and inclusion.” To which, she added, any rebrand from brands and retailers, or DE&I practioners themselves, going forward will likely revolve around inclusion, equity and impact, softening the focus on diversity.

Among the first to start retooling its language around diversity initiatives is John Deere. Last summer, the farm equipment manufacturer put out a statement saying it will continue to track and advance the diversity of its organization. But at the same time, “reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.”

Earlier this year, Target retooled its approach to diversity, evolving its “supplier diversity” team to its “supplier engagement” team to “better reflect our inclusive global procurement process across a broad range of suppliers, including increasing our focus on small businesses,” according to the retailer’s announcement last month. Meanwhile, McDonald’s rebranded its diversity team as the “Global Inclusion Team” and said it would sunset the concept of setting “aspirational representation goals” to instead focus on embedding inclusion practices into everyday operations.

Generally, DE&I initiatives were meant to provide a seat at the proverbial table for historically marginalized voices, execs told Digiday. Brands made bigger efforts after the murder of Floyd pressured their companies to change the status quo. In 2020, Target promised to stand with Black families, committing a $10 million investment to partnerships like the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum. Meanwhile, Meta (known as Facebook at the time) committed to spend $1 billion with diverse suppliers, including $100 million with Black-owned businesses. In 2021, Walmart established a five-year, $100 million philanthropic commitment to creating a new Center for Racial Equity. That same year, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order for DE&I in the federal government to promote DE&I in federal hiring and training.

Now, all aforementioned companies have scaled back their DE&I initiatives, including the White House, with companies like Google, Amazon and McDonald’s, among others, joining the mix.

Somewhere along the way, experts say, DE&I fell off the rails and was co-opted by opposing voices who see it as substitute for so-called wokeness rather than a variety of policy initiatives that vary by company. DE&I became a catch-all for everything from buying media with diverse-owned publications, hiring diverse talent, marketing to multicultural audiences, prioritizing Black-owned brands in retail, and everything in between, according to the three marketing and branding experts Digiday spoke with for this piece. At the same time, DE&I has been conflated with so-called woke marketing (a la Bud Light’s backlash), bringing it into the political arena.

“It’s a more nuanced conversation than people want to give it credit for,” said David Tann, founder and CEO of Tantrum Agency, a creative shop based out of Atlanta. “We keep talking about these things like they’re cut and dry.”

And maybe that’s where the issue lies, according to experts. The dismantling of DE&I is happening for a few reasons: On one hand, some companies saw diversity, equity and inclusion as a matter of numbers — hiring quotas, media spend figures for diverse-owned media, budgets for multicultural marketing — and expected a return on investment.

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“DEI in advertising has often been reduced to a performative exercise; checking a box rather than driving real impact,” said Sandy Rubinstein, CEO of DXagency, a full-service digital marketing agency, 

On the other hand, DE&I has seemingly been co-opted by conservative activists and turned into a political point of contention leaving companies that once invested in this space holding the bag, facing pressure from shareholders. If a company wasn’t already committed to DEI as a business imperative rather than a knee-jerk reaction to political climates, the about face is no surprise, said Tann. Notably, companies like Costco, Microsoft, and Apple, say they remain committed to DE&I. 

That’s not to say diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were a wash. Marginalized communities got a seat at the table that they wouldn’t have had otherwise, according to the execs Digiday spoke with for this piece. Still, those same cultural marketing experts say the path forward is investing in equity and inclusion as opposed to diversity. 

“It’s the way that many brands will play to ensure they aren’t in a crisis,” Lewis said.