POSTED: June 7, 2024
LAST UPDATED: August 16, 2024

Recent changes in the legal landscape, have urged organizations to rethink and rebrand their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. The word is that organizations are now focusing on broader terms like “inclusive culture” and “talent diversity” rather than using exact DEI terminology. This shift is partly in response to the legal pressures and the need to manage complex stakeholder expectations, which include employees, customers, and different regulatory bodies.

Despite these changes in branding and terminology, the commitment to promoting diverse and inclusive workplaces remains strong among businesses. The goal is to build and maintain workplace cultures where diverse perspectives are valued and respected.

1. DEI is constantly evolving to include terms like "belonging" and "accessibility" to meet the changing corporate needs.
2. The need of the hour is to put words like “equity” and “inclusion” at the forefront as people are preferring that over “diversity”.
3. Acronyms like DEIBA (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, Accessibility), EDI (Equity, Diversity, Inclusion), or IED (Inclusion, Equity, Diversity) are being favored.
4. Terms like “racism” and “gender” are being avoided for being controversial.
5. Diversity efforts in company functions are being rebranded as ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) goals or People & Planet metrics.
6. Organizations are removing labels like "members" and "allies" in diversity groups to make everyone feel equally included and valued.
7. Mentorship programs are being launched for all employees instead of restricting them to certain races or backgrounds.



Read the full article here that was originally published in the Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/05/05/dei-affirmative-action-rebrand-evolution/