The attacks on DEI professionals are forcing those in the field to rebrand themselves to get contracts, battle over the remaining staff positions and reimagine what the industry will look like going forward.
Photographer: Alan Schein Photography/Getty ImagesDemonized by Trump, DEI Professionals Go ‘Discreet’ to Find Jobs
Attacks on diversity, equality and inclusion programs are forcing workers to rebrand, shift focus and reimagine the industry’s future.
On the website of diversity consultant BWG Business Solutions is a sentence that would have felt out of place five years ago, when companies were bragging about their DEI efforts: “Due to the increasing scrutiny and politicization of equity efforts, the public listing of clients and partnerships has been removed from this website.”
BWG’s founder, Janice Gassam Asare, isn’t the only one changing the way she’s doing business now that the Trump administration has placed diversity, equity and inclusion in its crosshairs. The attacks are forcing professionals in the field to rebrand themselves to get contracts, battle over the remaining staff positions and reimagine what the industry will look like going forward. Some in the field are repositioning how they market themselves, including leaning away from talking about race and gender, and prioritizing their leadership expertise, according to interviews with more than a dozen DEI professionals.