With diversity, equity and inclusion fast falling out of favour in Washington, workforces are assessing whether a similar approach is likely to make its way to this side of the Atlantic.
Yet, regardless, some DEI leaders remain confident that Britain’s robust employment laws will ensure minorities continue to be championed and protected in the workplace amid a global backlash against DEI rules.
In the UK, the Labour government is committed to upholding DEI rights through the Employment Rights Bill. The proposed law, which saw more than 200 new amendments published last week, will strengthen workplace protections around sexual harassment, maternity, gender and sickness — while banning and limiting exploitative practices such as firing and rehiring, and zero-hours contracts.
Another draft law, the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill, will compel large companies to include race and disability data in pay gap disclosures. These laws will complement the existing 2010 Equality Act, which makes it illegal for organisations to discriminate against people based on factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation or age.
While the UK has a string of current and incoming DEI laws, Hannah Ford, employment partner at law firm Stevens & Bolton, warns they will not prevent the country from “being pulled back with the tide of regressive US DEI initiatives”.
She says UK businesses owned by US parent companies or looking to expand to America may be pressured into matching what she describes as the “US’s DEI political temperature and populism of defunding DEI”.
Laura Probert, chief people officer at tech company Exclaimer, agrees with this sentiment: “Typically, when something happens in the US, the UK feels the ripple effects.”
However, both Probert and Ford think UK-based companies that cancel or roll back DEI initiatives will eventually regret their decisions. For Probert, such a move would result in businesses losing talented individuals who “are committed to doing things right”.
Ford warns that curtailing DEI initiatives could “impede growth” at UK companies by causing poor job retention and recruitment, and opening them up to discrimination lawsuits.
Since returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has scrapped the previous government’s DEI targets, stopped federal initiatives and placed federal DEI workers on leave. Trump has also threatened to cut federal funding from schools and universities that promote DEI causes, a move recently blocked and deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Further threats of legal action have prompted some US companies — including Meta, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Disney and Deloitte — to cancel or recalibrate their DEI efforts.
Trump’s decision to dismantle DEI efforts will “unravel” the hard work that US companies have undertaken over the past few decades to improve workplace diversity and send a “destructive message” to other countries, including the UK, that have made progress in fostering DEI, argues John Paul Caffery, founder and chief executive of recruitment agency Ramp Global.
“These reflex actions taken by US businesses set a dangerous precedent for other regions like the UK,” he says. “Big players in Silicon Valley have a global reach and their influences will undoubtedly extend to UK-based business.”
Although Caffery opposes America’s anti-DEI attitude, he questions whether other factors — not just the latest government’s distaste for DEI — have contributed to this situation. “The intense acceleration of DEI in recent years has left many businesses unable to tangibly measure their results, with unrealistic [goals] that set both businesses and recruits up to fail,” he says.
Some believe, however, that the recent DEI developments in the US are part of a wider trend of corporate DEI deprioritisation taking place on a global scale. Daniel Snell, co-founder of corporate social change organisation Arrival, believes that “more complex” and “costly” market conditions have prompted businesses globally to reassess their DEI commitments. “DEI stopped being a top priority for most executives at least 24 months ago,” he says.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, expects UK companies to re-evaluate their DEI programmes in light of the US news. But he does not believe they will abandon DEI completely. “It is important to business, as well as society, that we continue to support inclusion as a driver of positive business outcomes,” he says.
While a report commissioned by the previous UK government stated that DEI programmes lacked rigour and failed to track impact, a survey by AlixPartners found two-thirds of executives believe initiatives tied to social issues — including diversity, inclusion and human rights — have had a positive impact on their company’s economic performance.
There are many signs that DEI will remain an important commitment for UK businesses in the months and years ahead. The UK arm of McDonald’s, for example, has pledged to maintain its efforts — including a target of minorities holding 40 per cent of senior leadership positions at the fast-food chain by the end of the decade — in contrast to its US parent, which has abandoned such targets.
In a similar move, Deloitte UK chief executive Richard Houston emailed staff to say that diversity would continue to be “a priority” for the company, even after Deloitte US dropped its DEI programme and told staff working on government projects to avoid stating their gender pronouns in emails.
The UK tech union Prospect is also pressuring British politicians to ensure US multinationals meet their DEI obligations in the UK. Meanwhile, a study by Apella Advisors and market researcher Find Out Now has found that half of British citizens believe that UK-based companies following their US counterparts in abandoning DEI would be a “bad” move.
Workplace diversity and inclusion principles are also enshrined in UK law, making it harder for companies to neglect DEI commitments in Britain. “Unlike the US, where some DEI initiatives are being challenged politically, UK organisations are required to meet existing legal obligations around equality, reasonable adjustments, and pay gap reporting,” says Kelly Thomson, a partner at international law firm RPC.
Because of this, she says US companies with operations in the UK and other parts of the world will be challenged to balance “competing pressures across jurisdictions”, she adds. To comply with pro-DEI regulations in the UK and EU, and manage “evolving discourse in the US”, Thomson urges these companies to be “clear and intentional about their global DEI strategies”.
America’s sudden change of heart may even be an opportunity for the UK. Tosin James-Odukoya, head of inclusion, diversity and wellbeing at wealth management company Quilter, says the country could emerge as a global leader in DEI if it focuses on delivering “long-term change”. “Instead of reacting to US trends, we should double down on what works: strong legislation, data-driven accountability, and targeted interventions in education and socio-economic mobility,” she says.
Matt Darling, talent acquisition director at consultancy BIP UK, also sees an opportunity for the UK to “step up and solidify its position as a leader in diversity and inclusion”. “By reinforcing our commitment to DEI, we can demonstrate that diversity and inclusion are not just ethical imperatives but also key drivers of economic growth, innovation, and long-term business success,” he says.
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