One year on since the US pushback against DEI started in earnest, we're seeing a sharp divergence in who remains committed. Just last week, Goldman Sachs announced it is dropping certain DEI criteria in board selection, while Colgate-Palmolive has said it wants to keep a DEI-led approach.
Who's making the right choice? As business decisions that shape future talent are consistently reduced to pro- or anti-DEI stories, it becomes nearly impossible to discuss the question properly.
What we really see is just how difficult it has become to sustain or evolve equity efforts in a climate where any change is read as either capitulation or defiance, and how the label DEI has become a distraction from what really matters.
One newly published book “How Equality Wins: A New Vision for an Inclusive America” suggest that the label may not matter as much as we think.
The authors Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow suggest that while the DEI label is under pressure today, the broader equality movement has proved remarkably durable over time. They argue that while debates like the current one may ebb and flow, the push toward fairer access and opportunity tend to reassert itself.
Their optimism is welcome. But I don’t think we can pretend that momentum is the same as inevitability.
One organisation that has been grappling with inclusion and equity for decades, long before the current DEI debate, is the Metropolitan Police.
In a recent interview for our podcast Shifting the Needle, Neil Basu, former Assistant Commissioner and National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing from 2018-2021, reflected on what it meant to navigate those challenges across three decades of service. His career trajectory to the top of the service, and ultimately his departure, underline a harder truth: institutional resistance is real, deeply embedded and often politically reinforced. Progress does not move in straight lines. Rational arguments alone - whether framed commercially or morally - rarely carry the day on their own.
In other words, systems do not simply self-correct.
This is consistently reinforced by the data. The recent Financial Times analysis of women in leadership roles in the FTSE and private companies shows that the pace at which they reach the top of major organisations is slower than it should be. After two decades of targets, public commitments and pressure, representation at senior levels remains stubbornly uneven.
If market forces and good intentions were sufficient, we would expect to see faster movement by now, for women and, of course, for other under-represented groups.
So, can we advocate for equity in this climate?
In the past we have tried to make the case through the head - arguing the business case - or the heart – that it's the right thing to do.
Both matter. But what actually changes systems is leadership that backs those efforts with genuine commitment, in decisions, in resources, in staying the course when political winds shift.
The divergence between Goldman and Colgate shows exactly that choice playing out.
Organisations are deciding whether to back equity work or step back from it in the face of pressure. Those decisions will shape who gets access, who progresses, and who holds power in the years ahead.
The label may be under siege. But the underlying question - whether organisations design systems that work fairly for everyone - hasn't become less important. So regardless of labels, that is what we have to advocate for.
To listen to the full episode of Shifting the Needle with Neil Basu, please follow the link here.
News
Colgate-Palmolive to defend DEI criteria for board selection – Reuters
Business stands firm on selection principles
Goldman Sachs to drop DEI criteria for board selection – New York Times
Race and gender to be removed from hiring process
Progress at gender equality at top of UK firms achingly slow – The Guardian
Representation at top exec level continues to stall
Female CEOs more qualified than males CEOs – AOL.com
Analysis of the career paths in S&P 500 CEOs
Accent causes one in three to feel judged at work – HR Magazine
Study on the impact of accent bias
Comment
Ditch DEI and move to FAIR – Forbes
The case for a new equity framework
Why are there so few women CEOs? – Financial times
Analysis of the latest survey of women on FTSE boards and private companies
Sam Altman is losing his grip on humanity – The Atlantic
On the misconceived view of humans in an AI world
AI productivity boom is not here (yet) – The Economist
Improved outputs are matching the rate of adoption
Insight
FTSE Women Leaders Report - Financial Times
The full 2026 report of representation at FTSE and private companies
DEI rules that changed corporate boards are vanishing – Wall Street Journal
A look into how companies are appointing fewer women and minorities
The upside of opening up DEI to everyone – Harvard Business Review
Kenji Yoshino and David Glasgow’s view on the future of equity