Trump Dismantles DEI Programs: What It Means for HR Pros

In one of President Donald Trump’s first-day executive orders, his administration moved to curtail most diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts within the federal government.

It might have much larger implications, affecting private organizations and their existing and future DEI initiatives.

DEI Programs Targeted

In Trump’s Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing executive order, his administration ultimately rescinded DEI programs and practices across all federal departments and agencies.

The executive order also called for the elimination of any references to DEI in federal contracting and spending. It directed the offices overseeing contracts to stop pushing contracts to balance their workforce based on race, sex, gender, identity, sexual preference or religion.

To further cement his intentions, he essentially furloughed all federal employees in DEI and diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) positions.

More specifically, the initial guidance on the DEIA order called for a notification to all employees in DEIA offices “that they are being placed on paid administrative leave effective immediately.” From there, he ordered the agency to take “steps to close and end all DEIA initiatives, offices and programs.” Their layoffs are imminent.

And it called to terminate all DEI contractors — organizations or employees contracted to offer DEIA services or programs to any government agency.

Finally, the directive called for government agencies to “take down all outward-facing media (websites, social media accounts, etc.) of DEIA offices,” essentially stopping the advertising and promotion of DEI initiatives.

(To note: This order mainly addresses DEIA initiatives and those who work within them. Another Trump order, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, focuses more on hiring, promoting and contracting practices. HRMorning will cover that elsewhere.)

Where This Gets Sticky for HR

And here’s where it gets sticky for HR: Trump’s orders direct federal agencies to encourage the private sector to take steps to deter DEI programs and principles.

In fact, the directive called for federal agencies to cancel all training and events connected to DEI. That means even if a federal agency or department doesn’t fall under the DEIA umbrella, it has to move forward while leaving behind its initiatives.

Now, this doesn’t mean any private organization has to drop its initiatives, stop trying to diversify its workforce or halt inclusive efforts. The executive orders don’t reach that far. For now.

In fact, lawsuits are already piling up to stop all of the executive orders.

But the rash of executive orders has prompted many HR pros to look more closely at their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. And while this issue will be in motion for quite some time, we don’t have the answers on what HR must do. There may never be an exact answer to that anyway.

What we do have are some ideas on how you can start to move in the direction that’s best for your organization.

Scale Back

A slew of large, brand-recognized organizations have unapologetically scaled back on their DEI initiatives in the past six months.

One of the most practical and compliant ways to scale back on diversity efforts is to focus mainly on equity.

With equity, you create — and promote — a fair and impartial work environment for employees. That involves ensuring employees have equal access to opportunities, pay and benefits. Plus, you create a workplace where they are treated without favoritism or discrimination — and institute consequences if those ideals aren’t met.

And equitable workplace includes: 

• Fairness: Treating all employees equally and fairly.
• Transparency: Being open and honest about company practices.
• Accountability: Holding employees and the company accountable for their actions.
• Inclusion: Creating a workplace where all employees feel welcome and valued.

“This is intentional, as promoting equity at your organization presents less potential legal risks,” say experts at pay equity firm Trusaic. “Striving to have a more equitable workplace as it relates to pay and opportunity is a worthwhile endeavor. In fact, neglecting the equity of your workplace across those two paradigms is the far more riskier of the two options.”

Ramp Up

For companies that either want to improve or create DEIA, it’s OK to move in that direction, too. One way: Some companies we know are moving beyond the traditional paths with their own diverse and inclusive initiatives.

For instance, ABIDE. That’s:

• Access. Ensure every employee has access to the same opportunities. Remove physical and non-physical obstacles and barriers that impact people’s ability to thrive.
• Belonging. Create a culture where people feel they can be themselves. Everyone should feel like they belong to and are welcomed within the entire group.
• Inclusion. Provide opportunities that include everyone, and exclude no one. The environment allows different thoughts, perspectives, approaches and styles. All of those are respectfully embraced and celebrated.
• Diversity. Recruit, retain and nurture a diverse workforce where everyone feels confident and comfortable in their environment.
• Equity. Treat all employees fairly, not necessarily the same.

But just adding letters and their explanations isn’t enough.

“The policy must breathe life through actions,” according to Lisa Sanchez, co-founder of The Positive Platform at the Paycor webinar Don’t Stop Engaging: Creating a Workplace that Rocks.

Leaders model it. Employees continue it.

Move to MEI

MEI — merit, excellence and intelligence — has made some waves in the workplace this past year. That’s certainly not to say DEI has died.

Brief Explanation

A brief history on MEI: Scale AI Chief Executive Alexandr Wang first popularized the phrase, explaining that his company would hire the best candidates for open roles without considering demographics. While it wasn’t a completely new phrase — or concept, for that matter — it picked up speed then.

And for the record, DEI exploded in the wake of George Floyd’s death and civil unrest in 2020. In the following years, more companies committed to improving diversity efforts. From there, the related acronyms continued to evolve. But, as the initiatives and successes increased, diversity took a hit following the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against affirmative action.

You can find pros, cons and more details on MEI in this story “From DEI to MEI: 5 Things You Need to Know.” In it, we talk with two experts with insights, experience and opinions on the matter.

For the latest updates on executive orders affecting HR, take a look at New Executive Orders: What HR Should Know for Trump 2.0.