DEI: Here to stay? Or on its way out?

06 Jan DEI: Here to stay? Or on its way out?

Lately, there’s been an avalanche of companies walking back their #Diversity, #Equity, and #Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. From legal challenges after the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action to political and activist pressures, organizations like Walmart, Ford, and others are scaling back or completely abandoning #DEI programs.

Some point to concerns over compliance or claims of ineffectiveness, while others cite shifts in focus toward core business operations. Whatever the reason, it raises the question:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭❓

In the #civilengineering profession—an industry where collaboration and innovation thrive on diverse perspectives—𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺’𝘴 𝘋𝘌𝘐 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥? 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘪𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴? 𝘖𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘵-𝘻𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵—𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘙𝘖𝘐? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦?

🙋🏼‍♂️Let’s open the floor:

🙌🏼What has your company done well in DEI?
🤔What lessons have you learned along the way?
🚫If you’ve stepped away from DEI programs, why?

I’m genuinely curious to hear your thoughts, especially from civil engineering professionals, #HR leaders, and executives in this space. Drop your insights below!