It’s weird writing a defense of DEI in 2025, and it’s tragic that anyone should have to.
But the past few weeks have been surreal, watching the United States—a country that was founded on at least lip service to diversity, equity, and inclusion—adopt the logic of internet trolls and white supremacists as they roll back DEI programming.
This is stupid and wrong. We can’t let bad actors reframe the debate, and redefine our words away from us.
As a comms pro, I have a few humble suggestions for pushing back, whether internally or externally:
- Use the words instead of the acronym. “DEI” is an abstract bureaucratic villain, an HR department that spends the company’s precious money on initiatives, ewww. Meanwhile “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” are broadly popular concepts among employees, new hires, customers, pretty much everyone.
- Talk about the values, not the programs. Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t boxes for HR to check, and they aren’t a department at the company. They’re values, and they’re important to any responsible org. Let’s talk about them as values instead of programs. And be confident, because again, diversity, equity, and inclusion are broadly popular.
- Live the values. DEI programs might get cut, but nobody can stop you from running an inclusive meeting, or showing your team that their diverse perspectives are valued, or working a bit harder to build a more representative candidate pool for an open role. (Codeword’s Dominique Middleton has more tips on how to do this.)
- Celebrate your wins. In a world where businesses are clamming up and clamping down on DEI messaging, brands have a chance to stand out for their boldness. For instance, our parent company, WE Communications, regularly gets perfect scores from Human Rights Campaign for inclusive benefits, policies that protect LGBTQIA+ employees, and corporate social responsibility. I’ve never really hyped them for it before, but in this environment, you better believe I’m going to be posting about it, and posting about your company’s wins too. We’re all in this together.
- Don’t forget the A. Cheers to everyone who includes “accessibility” as a fourth value for DEIA. It’s another concept that is broadly popular and self-justifying, even if the acronym might not be.
- Don’t give up. We’re going to win this one, because employees want to work at inclusive companies. Kids want to go to diverse colleges. Customers want to know that they aren’t spending money at resegregated businesses. And Americans want a government that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
The DEI moment isn’t over, it’s just starting.
