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The Trump administration has been using different methods over the past few months to push private sector companies to change or abandon their DEI programs. And while business leaders have certainly felt a sense of fear about standing up for those programs, they say abandoning such practices could also open them up to legal risk.
The vast majority (83%) of C-suite leaders say maintaining or expanding DEI is essential to mitigating legal risk, according to a survey of 1,000 executives with active workplace inclusion programs in place, published jointly by the Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on women’s advancement and inclusion, and the NYU School of Law’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Another 68% of business leaders say that moving away from their DEI policies would actually impose more risk for their companies. That’s because most C-suite leaders say scaling back on these policies could make their organizations more vulnerable to discrimination claims from minority groups, including women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ employees.
“Opting out of DEI is not a neutral act—it’s a choice with consequences,” says Christina Joseph, project director of the Advancing DEI Initiative at the Meltzer Center. “That’s because these programs help root out harmful policies that especially affect marginalized groups. This report reminds us that without those safeguards, organizations face more, not less, legal exposure.”
While it’s clear that business leaders are aware of the danger of doing away with their DEI programs, their legal counsel is even more mindful. Around 88% of legal leaders say that keeping corporate DEI practices in place is essential to avoiding legal risk, and 65% saying that moving away from those programs could lead to additional risk, according to the report, which also surveyed 250 legal leaders.
“Over the past couple of years, many organizational leaders have been focused on the legal risks of standing firm on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives,” Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at NYU School of Law and Director of the Meltzer Center, wrote in a statement accompanying the report. “This survey is a critical reminder of the substantial legal risks in the other direction.”
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