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Diversity, equity, inclusion: the temptation to pull back

Published on 29/07/2026

Students and professors at NEOMA work together on research projects. Under the guidance of Jean‑Baptiste Suquet, a professor in the School’s People and Organisations Department, a group of around 30 students from the MSc Sustainability programme looked at why companies pull back from their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies. 

Why has the rising opposition – or backlash – to diversity, equity and inclusion policies become such a topical issue? What is the context? 

The subject has obviously become highly charged in the media, in its broadest sense, especially in the aftermath of the actions taken by the Trump administration. Some organisations have given in entirely to this political pressure (Meta comes to mind), while others (Harvard is a good example) have decided to stand their ground. And although the backlash is clearly more intense in the U.S., the European Union also needs to stay alert to the growing challenges to transition-related policies. 

All the above raised an important issue for companies already committed to diversity and inclusion: how were they going to react to these attacks? For our MSc Sustainability students, who are preparing for careers in DEI roles, these questions pose a real challenge. 

What are the five business strategies? Which of them is the most widespread? Is there a difference depending on the industry or how big a company is? 

We identified five strategies. 

  1. DEI Retreat. A company capitalises on the current backlash climate to scale back or abandon its diversity policies. In some cases, the backlash functions less as a genuine response to internal dissent and more as a convenient justification for rolling back existing policies. DEI initiatives are given a lower profile as programmes are discontinued or put on hold. This approach is typically found in companies where the commitment to diversity was lukewarm from the outset.
  2. Virus Contamination Limitation. A company experiences a low-key, informal backlash. Some employees express hesitation or apprehension, showing limited buy-in. Or they might drag their feet when asked to attend training sessions. The goal is to contain this resistance before it spreads. DEI managers focus on dialogue, clear explanations and responsive communication to address employees' concerns before they escalate. 
  3. Not in My Backyard. This strategy is most common among organisations in the social and solidarity economy or that rely on external funding. The backlash does not necessarily take the form of explicit rejection; it can show up through reduced support or budget cutbacks. Organisations then have to look for new partners and adjust their business model to keep their diversity initiatives alive. 
  4. Conquering Minds. In this approach, diversity actors regard resistance as a normal stage in a change process they believe will be long-term anyway. Rather than revising their strategy in response to pushback, they carry on with their awareness-raising, training and educational efforts. The aim is to gradually shift the way people think whilst recognising that meaningful results will only become visible over time. 
  5. Going Against the Stream. Companies with the strongest commitment to diversity choose to stand by their convictions despite the backlash. They consolidate their diversity policies rather than diluting them, re-emphasising their central role in the organisation's strategy and identity. When employees act in ways that run contrary to the company's values, they may step in to bring them back into line or even consider disciplinary measures. 

These five strategies showed up in our sample with roughly equal frequency. It’s hard to quantify them precisely. Depending on the organisation, some aspects of diversity (such as LGBT+ issues) might elicit a particular response, while others (such as disability) might trigger a different reaction – or even no backlash whatsoever. 

Are we less exposed to this backlash in France and Europe? 

In general, even when it can be quite hostile, the backlash described by the students’ interviewees is still relatively mild and subdued. This echoes the notion of a “soft underbelly” of resistance that came up during interviews. One explanation lies in the strong safeguards provided by the European legal framework, which has not itself been challenged. 

At the same time, this framework may not be enough, especially given the challenges around employee engagement and the risk of silent disengagement among key stakeholders. The first issue to consider is whether Europe can serve as a model: beyond legal considerations, is there a specifically European approach to DEI that should be championed (just as some advocate for a distinctively European approach to AI)? 

The other key question concerns the language surrounding diversity: should organisations “camouflage” their DEI policies, pursuing diversity and inclusion without saying so, much like speaking prose without knowing it? Or, on the contrary, should they treat the language of diversity as an issue in itself, and work on their messaging and terminology? 

The ups and downs of diversity, equity and inclusion policies 

The history of DEI goes back to the “affirmative action” policies introduced in the U.S. in the 1960s. Since then, progress has followed a somewhat turbulent trajectory, with meaningful advances in companies alongside recurring setbacks and periods of pushback. 

Starting in the 1990s, there was the emergence of what is known as the business case for diversity. In other words, a desire to show that diversity policies could help generate and drive organisational performance. It was an attempt to show that, beyond political ideals and values, diversity initiatives needed to be embedded in corporate strategies by demonstrating that they made business sense. We’ve seen some progress, even though the history of diversity has been punctuated by regular reversals. 

This idea played a key role in introducing DEI policies into corporate settings. More recently, the early 2020s saw a resurgence of corporate engagement following the George Floyd case and the Black Lives Matter movement. 

A strong backlash followed, influenced in particular by the policies of the U.S. President. His actions demonstrated, on the one hand, that it was possible to say “No” to DEI, at times in defiance of the law and in outright rejection of the principles underpinning diversity and inclusion. On the other hand, his stance has given voice to these concerns: some have expressed their anxiety, others their hostility, or at least their resistance to DEI policies. Some of the most extreme reactions have come from the MAGA base and masculinist movements that are active across social media. 

These recent setbacks can also be understood as a backlash against the success of DEI efforts. Programmes were rolled out, companies positioned themselves and resources were mobilised. But sometimes organisations did so half-heartedly or ineffectively. Companies and activists committed to DEI values may have felt that there had been a lot of empty talk or “bullshit”. This is not so much a backlash as a backfire, a term used in the literature to describe how heightened expectations give way to disappointment, which then turns into opposition. 

A teaching approach grounded in research methodology 

The Sustainability MSc students selected 32 interviews that we felt were sufficiently substantial and well-conducted, with interviewees who met the criteria we had set. Since the students drew on their personal networks, most of the interviewees were French; however, there were also Indian and Taiwanese participants thanks to the five or six truly international students enrolled in the master's programme. 

In terms of organisational size and sector, the students aimed to capture the widest possible range. This included small organisations and major multinationals across a variety of fields such as consulting, industry, services, B2B and B2C. The students also made sure to include the non-profit and public sectors and, more broadly, the social and solidarity economy. While the resulting sample was not entirely representative, it was nonetheless highly diverse. 

The students reached out to diversity and inclusion stakeholders within these companies, including HR professionals involved in DEI, diversity managers where applicable, and operational-level ambassadors responsible for communicating and implementing these policies. 

Each semi-structured interview lasted about 40 minutes on average. The idea was to gain an understanding of the company and characterise the context the interviewees worked in, with a particular focus on the firm’s approach to diversity and inclusion: what was being done, what resources were available, what policies had been put in place, and so on. 

It was also about understanding whether there was a sense of backlash inside the organisation. And, if so, how did the organisation react? That was one of our core questions. Was there a backlash? What form did it take? What did it look like in practice? How was it perceived? Was it considered problematic and, if so, how were companies trying to address it? 

Afterwards, we analysed our data by comparing all the interviews in class, first in small groups and then as a whole class so we could identify typical responses to backlash. 

Authors: Hrishika Amod, Pauline Arnoult, Nolwenn Barcq, Paul Becker, Manon Bonnefant-Dufour,
Marion Buret, Lucie Carbajal, Marion Cauchoix, Elise Cavalié, Nicolas Charles, Enola Chassignet,
Bérénice Ciman, Bérénice Herzog, Maxence Jaskiewicz, Elisa Joffre, Raghu Charan Kancharla,
Eva Le Callennec, Gabin Passebon, Clément Petit, Léna Renard, Victor Robert, Nicole Rodriguez
Ramirez, Noah Simonneau, Ruchi Sinha, Subash Sukumar, Honorine Touillet, Yu Wang, Xinyao
Wang, Léna Woznjak
Supervision: Jean-Baptiste Suquet

Associated programme

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Professor

SUQUET Jean-Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste Suquet is Professor at Neoma Business School, where he teaches work and organisation studies from undergraduate to executive programs. His research revolves around the challenges and transformations of service work and customer relationship, considered especially through the micro asp