Systemic inequality isn’t going away. DEI shouldn’t either.

We knew this was coming. The moment the political tides shifted, the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ramped up. 

Executive orders are gutting funding, corporations are quietly scrubbing their DEI commitments from their websites, and entire programs are disappearing overnight. This isn’t just about politics. This is about power — who gets access to opportunity, who gets to build wealth, who gets to lead. This is about dismantling progress, piece by piece, while telling us it was never needed in the first place.

For the next four years, DEI will remain a target. The question is: What are we going to do about it? Because if we’re not intentional, if we’re not strategic, if we don’t move quickly, we risk letting the forces of regression undo everything we’ve fought for.

I’m not here to argue why DEI is important. We’ve had that conversation a thousand times. We’ve cited the research, we’ve made the business case, and frankly, if people still don’t get it, they never wanted to. There’s nothing left to debate. The data is there. The proof has been there. Companies with diverse leadership perform better. Equitable hiring practices create stronger teams. Inclusive workplaces retain top talent. Communities thrive when opportunity is shared. But here we are again, watching corporations retreat at the first sign of pressure, watching funding dry up, watching commitments disappear overnight.

What we need now isn’t another defense of DEI. We need a plan.

First, we have to stop waiting for permission. For too long, DEI work has relied on institutional approval — on budgets that could be cut, on leadership buy-in that could shift with the next election cycle, on policies that could be reversed with the stroke of a pen. And now we’re seeing exactly what happens when that permission is revoked. Organizations that claimed to be committed to equity are quietly stepping back, and those of us who have been doing the real work are being told to “scale down” or “adjust to the new climate.”

If companies won’t fund DEI, we find funders who will. If existing leadership pipelines shrink, we create new ones. If corporations walk away, we build stronger partnerships elsewhere. If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that movements don’t die just because the people in power decide they should. This work doesn’t end just because someone in an office decides it’s no longer “a priority.” The need doesn’t go away because a company’s PR team stopped talking about it. The systemic issues we’re fighting aren’t paused just because an executive order says they don’t exist. So why should we pause?

Second, we need to stop centering the acronym and start centering the work. Right now, DEI is politically toxic. That’s by design. It has been turned into a villain, a scapegoat, a convenient way to stir up fear and resentment. But equity doesn’t disappear just because the language shifts. If calling it “diverse hiring” gets you defunded, call it “leadership development.” If supplier diversity initiatives become a target, call them “economic growth programs.” If grants supporting Black and Latino entrepreneurs are suddenly under scrutiny, reposition them as investments in business innovation. The name is not the goal — the outcome is.

This doesn’t mean we stop talking about equity. It means we get strategic about how we keep these initiatives alive. It means leaders stop hiding behind fear and start getting creative. It means instead of retreating, we double down. It means embedding equity so deeply into business operations that it can’t just be removed as a budget line item. If you truly care about equity, you don’t need a DEI department to do the work. You don’t need a dedicated initiative. You need action, built into the way your business, your nonprofit, your institution operates — day in and day out.

Third, the private sector can’t sit this one out. Government funding is drying up. Corporate DEI programs are being slashed. But businesses still hold an immense amount of power in shaping the economic future of marginalized communities. And if businesses step back now, if they allow this moment to pass without resistance, they will have chosen the side of regression. Because make no mistake — this is a choice.

If you’re a business leader, this is the moment to step up. Fund grassroots organizations that have lost federal support. Increase investments in minority-owned businesses. Look at your hiring pipelines and make sure you’re not just talking about inclusion but actively building it into your recruitment and retention. If you made commitments in 2020 and 2021, now is the time to make good on them. Because if your support for equity only existed when it was easy, when it was trending, when it made for good PR, then you were never actually committed in the first place.