Trump warns of 'adverse consequences' for those who attempt to hide DEI roles: reports

But several American CEOs at WEF meeting vocalize support for DEI efforts

Trump warns of 'adverse consequences' for those who attempt to hide DEI roles: reports

Federal employees in the United States are being warned of "adverse consequences" if they fail to report colleagues working in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) roles amid alleged attempts to hide them.

The warning was sent via email to federal employees last week who worked across various agencies and departments in the United States, NBC reported.

"We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programmes by using coded or imprecise language," said the email as quoted by NBC News.

According to the warning, employees should inform the Office of Personnel Management if they are aware of any changes in contract or personnel position description since November 2024 to hide the connection between the role and DEI.

"There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences."

The warning came after US President Donald Trump placed on leave all federal employees in DEI programmes and initiatives, as the government seeks to stamp out such measures.

'Tidal wave' of DEI withdrawal

Joseph Seiner, a law professor at the University of South Carolina, said Trump's orders against DEI will start a "tidal wave of companies self-censoring and cutting back on those types of DEI efforts."

Seiner, in a report from USA Today, attributed this wave to fear of litigation with the federal government.

"Even if they're doing everything that complies with federal law, they could still find themselves subject to an investigation, which can be expensive and time-consuming to defend against," he told the news outlet.

DEI withdrawal in America has picked up traction over the past year thanks to conservative backlash and a Supreme Court ruling that declared them unconstitutional in the case of Harvard College's admission policies.

Among the organisations that altered their DEI efforts in the past year are Meta, Amazon, Walmart, Toyota, Tractor Supply, Harley-Davidson, McDonald's, among others.

There are other organisations, however, that are pushing back against the growing anti-DEI movement, such as Apple and Costco.

CEOs supporting DEI

In Davos, where the World Economic Forum held its annual meeting, DEI was brought up to leaders of major organisations.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, said they will continue to reach out to the Black, Hispanic, LGBT communities, and the veteran community.

"We’re not trying to pander to any one side or any one thing. Now if you point to something we're doing that's wrong, I'd change it," Dimon told CNBC. "We will make modifications going forward, but we're very proud of what we've done, and what we've done is lift up cities, schools, states, hospitals, countries, companies, and we're going to do more of the same."

Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman also told CNBC that they will continue building the right culture in the organisation.

"We do believe that a place where we feel like people can be themselves and can operate at their highest potential, and have diversity of views, and diversity of backgrounds, actually makes us a better company and makes us perform better," Friedman told the news outlet.

"So, we're going to continue to operate in that way. And I think that at the end of the day, these things come and go with different political cycles, but at the same time, I believe that there's an undercurrent that continues to be supportive."

Bill Ready, Pinterest CEO, also maintained that they are not planning on changing anything.

"We're not [changing anything], and the reason is we've seen it's actually leading to better engagement, there's consumer demand for it, it's good for our business," Ready told CNBC.

But Alexandr Wang, Scale AI CEO, said his company will be "meritocratic" in hiring. Wang previously made headlines after his MEI — or merit, excellence, and intelligence — hiring principle drew criticism from DEI experts and praise from other CEOs, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

"I don't have any option but to hire the best and most brilliant and most capable people for every single job inside my company," he told CNBC. "So as a result, we have no option but to be meritocratic… And in the process, we achieve diversity."