Assault on DEI: Critics use simplistic terms to attack the programs, but they are key to uprooting workplace bias

Research shows a clear connection between employees' sense of satisfaction and how much their employer prioritizes DEI. Just_Super/Getty Images

Prominent politicians have recently increased their attacks on workplace programs that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. They claim that initiatives that seek to be inclusive are divisive and lack merit.

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to ban DEI from federal offices. And Vice President-elect JD Vance, an Ohio senator, in June 2024 introduced the “Dismantle DEI Act” to eliminate all DEI programs from the federal government. He argued, in part, that DEI “breeds hatred and racial division.”