By Macey Shofroth | Fearless Editor

When President Donald Trump took office, he signed a slew of executive orders, including ones intent on dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts in both the public and private sectors.

The executive order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” laid off federal DEI staff and no longer required federal contractors to use affirmative action and diversity programs. The order “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” rescinded several past executive orders meant to curb discrimination, and it encouraged private sector employers to “end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.”

Many companies, such as Target, Meta Platforms and Lowe’s, have already begun dismantling their previous DEI structures and policies. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joined 19 Republican attorneys general in calling on Costco Wholesale to abandon its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, citing concerns about discrimination and legal risks.

Regardless of politics, DEI experts have said workplace inclusion efforts will only become more necessary as the country’s demographics continue to diversify. For instance, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that more than half of Americans will be nonwhite by 2044. While 7% of all U.S. adults self-identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual, 17% of U.S. adults under 30 do, according to Pew Research.

Many leaders are left wondering: What does this actually mean for my organization?

The Business Record sat down with Claudia Schabel, owner of DEI consulting firm Schabel Solutions, to learn what these executive orders mean for businesses. Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.

What is going to be the result of the recent executive orders?
A lot of companies, professionals and DEI practitioners like myself are trying to make sense of the executive orders that have come up last week. As you know, those executive orders are still going to be challenged in the short and long term. So we don’t know yet all the implications of it. What I do know is that this has caused uncertainty and confusion, and lawmakers are confusing affirmative action with DEI.

Can you explain the difference between affirmative action and DEI?
Affirmative action is one set of compliance-based measures that help increase representation of women, people with disabilities, veterans and people of color. But it’s not the same as DEI, which is much more robust efforts to really cultivate a culture of inclusion for all. So they are misusing these interchangeably. DEI is much broader, and it applies to every organization that understands the value of engaging every employee. One, because they care about and value their employees, and then two, because they understand that when their employees are fully engaged, they’re going to be much more productive, and therefore it’s going to impact their bottom line positively.

What do these executive orders mean for government entities and private businesses?
If you are a government contractor, and you have more than 50 employees, you no longer have to have an affirmative action plan. You no longer have to be intentionally focused on increasing representation of women, or racial and ethnic diversity. With that said, the executive order is still preserving affirmative action plans for veterans and people with disabilities. DEI is totally different, right? With affirmative action goals in place or not, you can still drive those efforts in any organization, because those efforts are trying to attract diversity of talent, diversity of skills, diversity of thought, diversity of backgrounds, diversity of every aspect that any human being can bring to the table. They’re also really trying to include those insights, skills and backgrounds in decision-making, product development, in all the other aspects that you do in your business. Employers and hiring managers are still striving to hire the most qualified candidate for the position. What happens is people don’t have a very robust understanding of the hiring process, and they think people are given jobs without deserving them. That’s not the case. It’s against the law.

How can businesses navigate these mandates?
Employers aren’t required to comply with affirmative action anymore when it comes to race, ethnicity and gender. That’s it. But if they are an inclusive company, and if they have DEI principles and still understand the impact of diversity and inclusion on their bottom line, they will continue to do everything the same way. Employers that still want to diversify their workforce, they absolutely can, especially if they see the value of it.

Look around. What would strengthen your team? What are the skill sets, what are the backgrounds that are missing from your team that could make your team more productive, more robust, and at the end of the day, would impact your team the most in the most positive way and impact the bottom line of the organization as well? We talk about hiring diverse talent, because organizations that do that understand that those people that think differently, that have a diverse background, that bring a different skill set to the workplace, they are going to ignite this culture of innovation. They are going to bring the different perspectives that are going to lead them to innovating on how you do things currently, or how you could do things in the future.

What is your advice for companies who want to do this work but don’t know how to approach it with these mandates?
Often, the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing, and that’s what opens businesses up to lack of compliance or lack of clarity as to why they’re doing those efforts in the first place. So my No. 1 recommendation is to understand your current state. What’s happening today in your organization? How does it relate to this conversation around creating a culture of inclusion, respect, civility and engagement? All of those efforts need to be understood by your leadership team, and then you can audit them and understand if they’re in compliance with the law that you have in your state or in the U.S.

Schabel recommended business leaders consider the following action steps:
1. Continue to comply with antidiscrimination laws.

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 still applies. Title VII has always prohibited employers from making employment decisions based on certain protected characteristics including race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
• Continue to ensure employment decisions are made based on legitimate business reasons, rather than on race and other protected characteristics.

2. Conduct an audit of your diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and hiring process. Determine if you need external help from experienced diversity, equity and inclusion practitioners and legal
teams to do so.

3. Ensure that your organization’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are aligned with your
organizational core values.

4. Articulate the business case for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion at your organization.
When done strategically, diversity, equity and inclusion efforts are integral to employee
engagement, attraction and retention of talent and overall organizational performance.

5. Educate your leaders on how thoughtful diversity, equity and inclusion practices mitigate biases that could hinder merit and opportunities for all people. Holistic inclusive practices advocate for true merit versus perceived merit.

6. Stay informed via reliable and valid sources of information.