For the Common Good: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Welcome to the latest edition of Women Employed’s series, For the Common Good, where we break down important issues that impact working women and their families — including the roles and the work of key federal agencies, departments, and programs — cut through the rhetoric, and provide actions you can take to make an impact.

Today, March 21st, has been designated by the United Nations as International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. One of the strongest, and historically most successful, ways to combat discrimination is through intentional initiatives to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion. Ironically, today is also the deadline for federal agencies to comply with Trump’s executive order to purge diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

From day 1, the Trump administration has made good on their promise to aggressively attack and take down diversity, equity, and inclusion, often abbreviated to DEI — closing programs, firing staff, and threatening colleges, universities, and private companies. They’ve used their bully pulpit to intimidate employers and schools, and many companies and schools have bowed to the pressure by preemptively overcomplying and walking back their commitment to their employees, students, and the American public.

Trump’s Department of Education has even launched an “End DEI Portal,” encouraging community members to report schools who participate in efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. Just last week, President Trump’s acting chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent letters to 20 law firms requesting information about their diversity, equity, and inclusion-related employment practices, the latest Trump administration assault on private law firms. And, they have signaled their plans to prioritize rooting out “DEI-motivated race and sex discrimination” to comply with Mr. Trump’s orders. A clear overreach of authority and power.

Despite the administration’s propaganda and fear-mongering, the reality is that efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion are about living up to our American values of fairness, opportunity, and equal access. But a lot of people don’t really understand “DEI” or what it means.

So, how much do YOU know about diversity, equity, and inclusion? Can you separate the myths from the facts? Watch this short video to learn some truth, then keep reading to learn more about this important work, and to TAKE ACTION.

The truth is simple: equity, diversity, and inclusion is about reducing discrimination and bias in workplaces, schools, and more.

It’s about uniting us — not dividing us — and moving our nation closer to the American Dream of liberty and justice for all. It’s about implementing practices to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to access opportunity — no matter our race, gender, religion, identity, or background.

At their core, programs to foster inclusivity are meant to take bias out of the equation, so that college and job applicants are judged based upon skills, talents, and experience. So that every student receives equitable resources to learn and succeed. So that we can all access the opportunities we’re qualified for. So that, as employers, as supervisors, as college admissions staff, we can make the best decisions without being hindered by our own bias.

And the results speak for themselves. Research cited in Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report states that organizations with greater diversity are 2.4 times more likely to outperform competitors financially. And a LinkedIn study found that 80 percent of people want to work for a company that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. And our younger workforce doesn’t just want inclusivity — they demand it. A poll showed that 83 percent of Gen-Z respondents consider an employer’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion before they apply — and 75 percent would think twice before applying at a company whose efforts around equity, diversity, and inclusion aren’t up to snuff.

Want to learn more a? Take a deeper dive in part 2 of our video, featuring WE’s President and CEO, Cherita Ellens:

So, what’s at risk because of the administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion?

• Students and workers who experience discrimination will have fewer avenues to seek justice, and may be afraid to pursue their rights at all.
• Colleges will shutter programs that ensure students of color and low-income students can succeed in completing their degrees, making education more expensive and harder to access for all except the elite.
• Companies will be emboldened to not only reduce their efforts to foster inclusivity, but potentially to go back to a time when the best opportunities were reserved for a privileged few — namely, white men.
• Our whole society will feel the impacts — both culturally and financially. When we don’t tap into our full talent pool, we all suffer. We know we achieve the best outcomes when we have true diversity…diversity of thought, perspectives, and lived experiences.

The bottom line is, until Congress changes law, regardless of what the administration says or does, discrimination is illegal under federal law. Employers and colleges cannot discriminate against applicants or employees based upon their race, gender, religion, color, national origin, or other protected class.

For those of us in Illinois, it is important to note there are additional protections for our workforce, and a proven track record of standing up for workers and against federal intimidation.

And, while there has been great progress since the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, we have yet to reach equality and parity. Women and People of Color are still underrepresented in leadership, and in several industries, and they are still underpaid, undervalued, and lagging in household wealth. The current attacks on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, leave all of our progress in peril and threaten to upend our protections that were codified in the ‘60s.

What can YOU do to make an impact?

Have less than 5 minutes?

• Share this post with your community, and make sure they know about what equity, diversity, and inclusion really mean and why they matter. Just hit the share button at the top of the article!

Have 5–10 minutes?

• Call your federal legislators. Demand they stand up against the attacks on the American values of fairness and equal opportunity by the Trump administration, and do everything they can to protect our bedrock civil rights laws and protections. Hearing from you matters. Your voice and your stories have power.
• Don’t know who your officials are, or how to reach them? Here’s a great tool for finding all of your elected officials — local, state, and federal! (And here’s a hot tip: program your legislators’ numbers into your phone to make it even easier to call them! And an even hotter tip: program their local district numbers AND their DC or Springfield numbers as well so that they can hear from you no matter where they are!)
• Sign up for Women Employed’s Action Network. We are constantly monitoring the landscape to help cut through the rhetoric. We’ll email you with concrete actions that will make a difference — including any important actions coming out of Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination hearings for Secretary of Labor — and we’ll also send new issues of For the Common Good to keep you informed.
• Make a gift to Women Employed to support this work.

Have a half hour?

• Fight attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion in education. Use the administration’s “End DEI Portal” to share examples of what REAL discrimination looks like. Use this guidance from our friends at The Leadership Conference.
• Subscribe to our For the Common Good series here on Medium, and visit the landing page on our website.
• While you’re on Medium, read through Women Employed’s recent posts to learn more about the issues.
• Know your local, state, and federal workplace rights―and make sure people in your community do too. And if you’re an immigrant worker, check out your workplace rights as well, courtesy of our partners at Arise Chicago, in English and in Spanish.
• Protect and care for yourself. Our friends at Supermajority have resources to help.

Have 1–2 hours a month?

• Join our Advocacy Council and attend our monthly meetings.

For the Common Good is a series where Women Employed will break down the administration’s actions, as well as important issues that impact working women and their families — including the roles and the work of key federal agencies, departments, and programs — and what you can do to make an impact.