Project 2025, also known as the “2025 Presidential Transition Project,” is a guide created by conservative organizations and led by The Heritage Foundation. Its clear focus is on limiting LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive rights and eliminating the Department of Education.
Project 2025’s authors believe there has been a “DEI Revolution” and hope to reverse it, writing: “Under this managerialist left-wing race and gender ideology, every aspect of labor policy became a vehicle with which to advance race, sex, and other classifications and discriminate against conservative and religious viewpoints on these subjects and others, including pro-life views.”
While there is no definitive goal for DEI in Project 2025, the expectation is that executive orders will prohibit the federal government from paying for critical race theory training and eliminate racial classification and quotas. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has been in effect since 1965, collecting employment data based on race and ethnicity, which they want to prohibit for all employers.
Project 2025’s handbook’s DEI recommendations fit into four main categories:
- Abolishing DEI offices and personnel in the federal government.
- Ending the government’s participation in DEI initiatives.
- Amending laws that regulate against discrimination.
- Taking enforcement action against any organization that engages in DEI.
The most chilling for DEI is the last anticipated action—taking enforcement action against any organization that engages in DEI. The document states that “all state and local governments, institutions of higher education, corporations and any other private employers who are engaged in discrimination are in violation of constitutional and legal requirements” on page 562, including those who engage in “racial classifications and quotas” or “DEI trainings that promote critical race theory” later on page 582-583.
If Project 2025’s goals become law, it could profoundly alter diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across numerous industries. It would challenge ongoing efforts to create workplaces that are fair and equitable. It is imperative that institutions, not just government entities and higher education, anticipate these restrictions and reaffirm their commitment to DEI. There are three key strategies to continue doing DEI work in the face of Project 2025’s adversity:
- Resist the narrative that DEI is going away.
- Tell the story of why diversity, equity and inclusion matter.
- Be clear about DEI strategies, intentions and impacts.
Resist the Narrative that DEI is Going Away
DEI might be getting new packaging, but the work is not going away. Industry growth is positive and forecasted to increase as organizations pivot more to inclusion, belonging and culture work that embeds DEI principles. The news has a negativity bias. Negative stories and headlines attract more readers because the human brain is wired to detect threats, and fear is one of our strongest emotions. Don’t let the fearmongering work.
Tell the Story of Why Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Matter
DEI is a relatively new acronym that has become more widely used since 2020, and many people still do not understand what it is or what it means. Only half of the workforce is aware of DEI concepts. Fear replaces uncertainty, and it is easy to weaponize fear of the unknown.
Studies show that saying the words behind the DEI acronym, leading with the full set of words, diversity, equity, and inclusion instead of the acronym, DEI, increases positive perceptions. People fear what they do not understand. That is why it is essential that organizations tell their diversity, equity and inclusion stories.
Be Clear About DEI Intentions and Impacts
DEI practitioners often use the intent versus impact framework to coach people on being more inclusive. Essentially, a person could have great intentions and do something that causes a negative impact. These are commonly called microaggressions or non-inclusive behaviors. This framework is also helpful when explaining how DEI works at the organizational level.
DEI’s intentions might be to better understand and cater to the needs of diverse customers, partners and stakeholders, building stronger relationships and driving sustainable growth. Prioritizing DEI showcases an organization’s commitment to social responsibility, attracting top talent, boosting employee morale and enhancing its reputation as a forward-thinking and inclusive employer. Be clear about the intentions and tie them to the business.
Rather than representation goals or quotas that will likely face legal scrutiny under Project 2025, focus on the impacts the organization hopes DEI will create. What will happen if the organization is more diverse, equitable and inclusive? Will shareholder value increase, employee engagement increase, retention increase, innovation revenue increase and turnover costs decrease? Be clear about the intentions for DEI work. To avoid risk and engage more allies, pivot from focusing on a zero-sum game representation metric to more inclusive business impact metrics.
Project 2025, if enacted, may have devastating consequences for DEI. However, if organizations resist the narrative that DEI is going away, tell the story of why diversity, equity and inclusion matter and are clear about DEI strategies, intentions and impacts, they will have greater success.