Corporations try to bury their “diversity” programs “under the radar” after backlash

Many corporations are revamping their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to be less overt in response to the recent backlash, The New York Times reported Monday.

Recently, hundreds of companies have been reevaluating their DEI programs in the wake of the Supreme Court ruled against college admissions based on race in june prominent business executive resistance i technological layoffs affecting associated employees, seconds in the NYT. Many companies are updating their programs to be less aggressive to avoid pushback and criticism.

/1BREAKING: We just filed complaints with the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, requesting investigations into @AmericanAir @SouthwestAir @units for illegal racial and sexual discrimination.

We have to #DemolirDEI

THREAD: pic.twitter.com/dNIXmzwVBh

— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) January 17, 2024

For example, some HR workers have pushed their DEI initiatives “under the radar,” Harvard DEI expert Frank Dobbin told the NYT. Business leaders have also been talking about how to implement DEI “in a less direct way” at recent conferences he has attended.

Jenner & Block law firm partner Ishan Bhabha and his colleagues concluded that following the Supreme Court's decision, corporations are likely to face a legal backlash, according to the NYT. Bhabha began working with numerous Fortune 500 companies to scrutinize their diversity initiatives to ensure they did not violate any laws.

“'Look, if I got sued for this and I have to become the face of DEI's defense against a conservative backlash, I'd be happy to do it,'” some of Bhabha's clients say, but “the vast majority of my clients [are] not in this bucket. They think: 'We would like to keep our heads under the parapet'”.

According to the NYT, certain corporations have been looking to trade high-profile programs, such as required anti-bias training, for less controversial measures such as diversity task forces.

The conservative nonprofit American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) sued the law firms in 2023 for their diversity scholarship initiatives, claiming they are discriminatory towards whites and Asians. After the lawsuits, the law firms expanded their grants to include applicants of all races and backgrounds, and AAER withdrew its lawsuits, according to the NYT.

“Regardless of how corporations, colleges and governments describe illegal DEI policies, they are still illegal and will be actionable in a court of law,” AAER founder Edward Blum told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Treating employees, customers, and clients differently because of their race is deeply unpopular and polarizing among most Americans. These distinctions will continue to be challenged in court, no matter how well corporations try to hide them in the audience”.

Bhabha and Dobbin did not immediately respond to DCNF's request for comment.

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