Following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis in 2020, in consequence to the demands of Black Lives Matter, American business has taken quite a few action to effectively strengthen the inclusiveness and equal opportunities of people from diverse social groups. This was not only about the actual inclusion of black people, due to the fact that the bluntness, which was the consequence of the manifest manifestation of racism and utmost abuse of power, caused the debate to boil about privileges, power and exclusion of all disadvantaged groups.
Top brands condemned racism, exclusion, and became active in a discussion about power and privileges which, over a period of respective months, lay the foundation for equality actions as 1 of the most crucial arguments for countering and responding to discrimination. It was on this basis that DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) gained a fresh dimension and undisputable format, and the improvement of a strategy approach to Inclusion became the message present in the values of the largest companies.
Over the last 4 years, we have recorded a real inflation of reports, investigation and analyses of the labour marketplace just for DEI. After 2020, they published investigation specified as Deloitte, Catalyst, Better Up, which raised the DEI to an unknown level at which solutions and implementations based on circumstantial data could be built. There was a fresh quality, a change in approach, objectives of DEI policy, and above all in its execution and implementation.
We were drawing small from it, disbeliefful of the fact that the last 4 years brought more DEI than the erstwhile twenty. Transparency in reporting, financing of affirmative actions, anti-discrimination and equality programmes, policies and strategies, which besides set the course of action initially for that part of business which is connected to the American and consequently for the full business planet besides in Europe. We wanted to believe that this approach would make the correctness that would permanently specify the business approach to DEI.
A fewer months before Donald Trump won the presidential election, we observed an expanding stir in this part of global business that is liable for DEI. They began to tremble its functional foundations, and subsequent companies, seeing the expanding likelihood of Trump's triumph and tying them to the hazard of political and business consequences, began to liquidate or transform their DEI departments.
Trump's electoral promises in Agenda 47 besides reflected the demands of task 2025, which aim to destruct the DEI from national programmes and the consequences for private actors implementing specified initiatives, although Trump himself repeatedly cut off from task 2025. In addition, in 2023, the U.S. ultimate Court ruled that affirmative actions, which we mistakenly called affirmative discrimination in Poland 15 years ago, carried out in higher education violate the Constitution. Affirmative actions are temporarily maintained preferential conditions for a peculiar social group which, without specified solutions, would not have a chance of participating in social, political or academic life on equal terms and overcoming systemic discrimination. This is, for example, a mechanics of parities, the dismissal of electoral committees of national minorities from the request to get a 5% electoral threshold or to grant a pool of college seats to persons of circumstantial origin, degree of fitness or skin color.
In its ruling, the ultimate Court referred straight to the preferences in recruitment to universities. However, its effects not only affected university practices, but besides on business – any American companies have begun to limit their diversity policies, and inclusive recruitment has stopped safeguarding equal opportunities.
Donald Trump was sworn in as president of the United States on Martin Luther King Day – a symbol of the conflict for equality and the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of skin color. Trump referred to this, saying, "We will make a society that does not see the colour of the skin (color blind) and is based on the principles of meritocracy." This means 1 thing – the end of efforts to build an inclusive society.
The rule of inclusion is based on the designation that different qualities of man, his abilities, predispositions, talents, but besides limitations and difficulties influence how he functions in different spheres of life. Therefore, the function of a socially liable university, employer, wellness care is to make optimal conditions that respond to the needs of each person.
Inclusion so implies an individual approach and personalisation of solutions, closely linked to the rule of social justice (equity). The deficiency of it means, for example, that we quit rational improvements towards people with disabilities, decision distant from flexible working time for parents returning to work after the birth of a child, do not let neuro-diversity of distant work or silencers.
So the DEI is not about treating everyone equally, but according to their needs. Aristotle already claimed that "similar things should be treated similarly, non-similar things should be treated differently, proportionally to their differentiation". Trump denies this thought and, in the name of building a large America, appeals to the rule of social justice. He does it in the light of headlights, cameras and laws. The laws that he himself constitutes.
In its Implementing Regulation of 21 January, entitled ‘End of illegal discrimination and restoration of meritocracy-based opportunities’, president Trump repealed a number of legal acts over the last 50 years which aimed at strengthening diversity and combating discrimination, including those on Equal employment Opportunities Act. In addition, he signed respective twelve legal acts, including the termination of the admission of people with experience of refugees, the suspension of the right to asylum and the designation of only 2 sexes – male and female. This change is presented as a way to defend women from "gender extremism".
In addition to the ban on national backing and the withdrawal of protection for transgender servants in the US Army (estimated at 9-14 1000 people), the fresh law besides limits the anticipation of utilizing gender-compliant pronouns felt by transgenders in government institutions and workplaces, as well as a number of another issues involving dignity and safeguarding their fundamental rights. In carrying out his electoral promises, president Donald Trump suspended the staff liable for DEI in the national government and sent them on paid leave. Many DEI programs and initiatives have been closed in states specified as Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas, and nearly 200 positions related to diversity, equality and inclusion have been liquidated or converted throughout the public strategy of universities in North Carolina.
Decisions with Mar-a-Lago are crucial for what will happen next with DEI in business – Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Lowe’s or mark are just examples of companies that have already withdrawn from DEI. This withdrawal means not only the closure of interior backing programmes for actions supporting disadvantaged groups in local communities or strengthening diversity in the supply chain. It besides marks the end of awareness-raising, cognition provision and the improvement of inclusive policies in the workplace. How will the current situation translate to Polish business? Will corporations retreat from DEI? What will we see in sustainable reports? Today, any conclusion of this communicative is inactive possible. choice the ending or add your own:
1. Nothing's gonna happen.
European law is simply a mature and resilient legal strategy that has resisted for years the shocks and turbulence resulting, at least, from the diversity of experience, priorities and interests of the associate States. We remember erstwhile discussing the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the discussions on the horizontal anti-discrimination directive, and the last windfall erstwhile voting on CSDDD. Anti-discrimination and equal treatment are at the heart of European legislation, which has organization and financial guarantees. The entry into force in six months of the European Accessibility Act, the Directives aimed at sex balance or the wage gap, although comparatively new, are a warrant of stableness and continued approach to equal treatment issues
2. It'll be like nothing happened.
The fact that DEI may be a political card, Poland has convinced itself repeatedly over 8 years of the regulation of law and justice. Although the preambula has disappeared from the Education strategy Act and anti-discrimination education has been withdrawn from schools, Rainbow Fridays have been banned and subsequent municipalities have been declared LGBT+ free, anti-discrimination and equality initiatives have inactive been implemented. Local governments, state-owned companies, businesses had the chance to implement diversity programmes, build a culture of inclusion. In this context, the words of Adena Friedman, head of Nasdaq, said in late January 2025 at the planet economical Forum in Davos: “We are pleased with the results we have achieved in creating a culture of inclusion and a sense of belonging. I think many companies feel the same as I do, only that it will now be a small more subdued”
3. Everything will happen
When, in 2019, law enforcement authorities in a non-precedented manner in the explanation of the criminal law government had massively interfered in a private-law employment relation with the individual who decided to release the worker for invoking hatred, business remained silent. The written memoirs remained unechoed, the prepared posts and papers were not submitted and are most likely inactive in the midst of major cases in email boxes. This situation has shown us with all its power how hard it is to say "check" erstwhile values, which are frequently exchanged in 1 breath alongside the company's mission, are threatened. What's it gonna be this time? Who will take an attitude that looks forward to a preventive retreat, and who will rise the helmet? How much will it cost, in which currency and who will yet pay the bill?
