• by Sarah Mahoney , March 10, 2025

Target is one brand that continues to fend off criticism for its DEI rollback.

As DEI becomes one of the year’s most politically fraught acronyms, brands are scrambling to find messaging workarounds that protect both their values and their reputations.

Many large companies have pulled back on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts -- but often only at the surface level. While some language has changed (“inclusion” is now “belonging” in many settings), the underlying programs often continue. These shifts are more about internal operations, like hiring and promotion policies, than outward-facing communications.

Marketers still want -- and need -- to connect with women, people of color, and LGBTQ audiences. The challenge is doing so amid rising consumer cynicism, growing mistrust of corporate messaging, and increased scrutiny from conservative watchdogs.

Few brands have found the right balance. On one hand, backlash is growing. Some consumers are angry enough to organize boycotts, while others are quietly losing trust. Early data suggests store traffic may already be declining in response, and brands like Target have faced significant reputational fallout.

On the other hand, anti-DEI activists are declaring victory -- and escalating their campaigns, declaring war on DEI by any other name. Even subtle shifts in language or policy are being scrutinized. That leaves many marketers stuck: How do you stay inclusive without becoming a headline?

For some companies, the short-term response has been to go quiet. 

"A CEO of a large tech company with government contracts recently told me that the company is pausing all external communications on DEI until someone figures out what’s legal and illegal,” says Kellie McElhaney, a lecturer and founding director of the Center for Equity, Gender, and Leadership at University of California’s Berkeley Haas School of Business. “So externally, they are under the radar. But they are not doing anything differently, internally, except changing the way they talk about DEI."

“And like 2020, when the murder of George Floyd created a moment of broad racial reckoning, companies felt they had to respond. This is another inflection point,” says Andre Banks, founder and CEO of NewWorld, a marketing and advocacy agency. “Companies are now questioning their DEI policies, whatever they call them. What role do they play in business strategy? How well they are working? Are they helping us understand the value diverse consumers and talent bring our business?”

An Evolution, Not a Retraction

That doesn’t mean programs are disappearing. In fact, Banks says the shift away from DEI language is, in some cases, driving deeper commitments. 

“It’s leading them to double down on the programs that they have, making sure they have the best talent and figuring out marketing approaches to all audiences.” 

Banks tells Marketing Daily conversations will increasingly be about DEI evolution, not retraction. “How do you improve them and focus on increased cultural intelligence? This is the next wave of multicultural marketing, and brands need to get sharper about using data they have to connect specific audiences to the entire business.”

That evolution also means some programs will fall away -- especially those that were superficial from the start. 

“The best programs are tied to the fundamental success and mission of the business and financial success,” says Banks. “But those that were just Band-Aids for cultural problems never took hold. They didn’t have the ear of key leaders. They were already faltering before this backlash.”

McElhaney agrees and says many hastily built DEI efforts were overdue for a rethink.

“I’m complicit in this, too,” she concedes. “In hindsight, there were certain things we did that were ineffective. We excluded certain identity groups from joining the movement to advance a culture of equity and inclusion, specifically white men.”

She adds that some mistakes were rooted in fear rather than strategy. 

“After the infamous Central Park Karen situation, white women became villains as well, and for some good reasons. But freezing people out of solutions doesn’t work.”

And she believes internal DEI teams missed opportunities for self-reflection. “It was inevitable that we’d make mistakes along the way, and leaders can’t succeed unless they look closely at what they’re doing and try to improve.”

Even as the political landscape shifts, there are meaningful, low-visibility ways marketers can keep inclusion efforts moving forward. Experts suggest these practical strategies:

*Translate DEI into values-based leadership. “It is not illegal to derive organizational value by operationalizing the company's core values, creating and protecting workplace safety, and developing high trust, connected and productive teams,” says McElhaney. “Becoming a better leader, teammate, or human is not illegal. A culture where everyone thrives is a good thing.”

*Tell more stories.  Personal stories, used both internally and in marketing, are powerful. “They bridge differences,” McElhaney says. 

*Diversify your personal board of directors. “Who are you inviting to dinner? Who appears in the series you’re streaming? Books you are reading? Who’s not there?” she asks. She encourages marketers to think beyond race and gender, and expand their circles by class, education, military experience, and neurodiversity. 

*Practice radical curiosity. “DEI was never about quotas or having different-looking faces in the room,” says Banks. “It’s about asking questions, using tools that marketers already have, to understand potential audiences.” 

For example, his team helped an electric freight company discover surprising interest in trucking careers among young women and people of color. “It’s a finding that solved a business problem,” he says.

*Play the long game. These are still the early days of the new administration, and President Trump’s executive orders regarding DEI, including what "illegal DEI" means, are being sorted out in court.

None of this is easy, especially given the onslaught of misinformation. “It’s not helpful that we have a president who blames plane crashes on DEI,” Banks says.

Still, there’s a real opportunity to build sales and market share with diverse and inclusive marketing, even as rhetoric against DEI intensifies. Polls show more Americans favor diverse approaches than oppose them, and young people, Black consumers, Hispanic shoppers, and LGBTQ audiences remain rich growth targets.

“Marketers can use this moment to evolve in ways that are reaching a more diverse populace, building that into strategies for the years ahead,” adds Banks.

Quiet DEI may be the strategy for now -- but the work, and the opportunity, remain wide open.