
On Monday, President Donald Trump was officially sworn into office. On the first full day of his second term, he signed an executive order that ended diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) funding for government agencies and repealed orders signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which aimed to combat racial and gender-based discrimination.
Trump continued to dismantle government DEI efforts yesterday as all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff were put on paid administrative leave, as his administration looks to close all associated offices and initiatives.
Companies can now walk back their DEI policies without reproach
Corporate America has also been engaged in a new round of DEI cutbacks. Both Amazon and Meta have begun scaling back their diversity and inclusion programmes. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg were among the business leaders who dined with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in the days leading up to his inauguration.
Earlier this month, McDonald’s also announced it will be retiring specific goals for diversity at senior leadership levels and ending its efforts to promote diversity among its suppliers.
These US multinationals join the likes of Ford, Toyota and Molson Coors in rolling back their diversity efforts. And more are likely to follow, according to David Collings, chair of sustainable business at Trinity Business School.
“This political context legitimises and amplifies what started as a right-wing agenda to push back on social-justice struggles,” he says. “Unfortunately, this is already being reflected in workplaces and it is hard to see how that trend will not continue over coming months. Companies led by business leaders who do not support DEI can now very legitimately walk back their DEI policies without reproach.”
Is DEI undergoing an evolution?
Not all companies are bowing to the current political pressure. Apple and Costco have reaffirmed their commitment to DEI in recent weeks, after both companies urged shareholders to vote against proposals from a conservative activist group to end their diversity programmes.
Despite widespread rebranding, the core principles of DEI are likely to continue
Even companies that are attempting to distance themselves from DEI remain dedicated to some elements of it. For example, Meta’s diversity chief Maxine Williams will remain at the company under the new title of vice-president of accessibility and engagement, while other companies have simply edited some of their references to diversity.
Matt Dean, founder of work culture and behaviour specialists Byrne Dean, views these changes as a rebrand, rather than an abandonment of DEI. “Despite widespread rebranding, the core principles of DEI – ensuring respect and fairness for everyone in your workplace irrespective of their background – are likely to continue,” he says.
Sarah Peterson Herr, legal editor at HR consultancy Brightmine, has noticed a similar trend. Despite the current backlash, half (53%) of US workers surveyed by research organisation The Conference Board say their company has adjusted its DEI terminology, instead focusing on broader concepts like “belonging”. “This suggests that DEI isn’t dying – it’s evolving,” Peterson Herr says.
How will changes in the US impact UK businesses?
Collings believes there may be some “spillover” from the US DEI backlash in the UK. “Race, and specifically migration, was a key narrative in Brexit and we have seen some of the far-right type agenda creep into the political landscape there,” he says.
However, he adds, the UK’s stronger legal safeguards provide a “baseline protection” for workers, which will make it harder for companies to abandon all DEI measures. The Labour government also intends to make it compulsory for all larger companies to publish ethnicity and disability pay gaps through the equality (race and disability) bill.
Dean predicts a “period of soul searching” for UK businesses. “Firms in the UK, particularly those whose values, mission or purpose centrally weds them to diversity and inclusion, are already facing a dilemma over what to say and how to respond to US rollbacks from DEI,” he says. “We suggest the role of HR leaders here is central.”
This may be particularly challenging for UK-based offices or subsidiaries of US companies.
Meta’s UK staff have already expressed their concern about the company’s decision to scrap fact-checkers and DEI initiatives.
We have seen some of the far-right type agenda creep into the political landscape in the UK
“UK DEI leaders will need to be ready to explain the direction of travel in the UK and EU and its implications for US-headquartered multinational employers whose political and legislative stance may be different,” Peterson Herr says.
She advises British business leaders to remain aware of, but not influenced by, the decisions of US businesses. “My hope is that UK employers will understand the actions of their US cousins are shortsighted, driven by the president-elect’s anti-DEI rhetoric as opposed to sound business logic,” Peterson Herr adds.
UK companies that do follow Trump’s lead on this issue may have to be prepared for employee pushback. DEI is much less politicised in the UK and two-thirds of British adults still rate workplace diversity highly when considering job opportunities, according to a YouGov survey.
“Decisions, such as the ones made at Meta, around DEI may well give employees cause for reflection on how their values are aligned with their employer’s,” Collings says.
This means that a US-style rowback of DEI policies in the UK remains unlikely at the moment.

On Monday, President Donald Trump was officially sworn into office. On the first full day of his second term, he signed an executive order that ended diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) funding for government agencies and repealed orders signed by his predecessor, Joe Biden, which aimed to combat racial and gender-based discrimination.
Trump continued to dismantle government DEI efforts yesterday as all federal diversity, equity and inclusion staff were put on paid administrative leave, as his administration looks to close all associated offices and initiatives.
Companies can now walk back their DEI policies without reproach