U.S. President Donald Trump has designated the DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) policy as "illegal" and announced tightening regulations, but major corporations in the United States have continued to maintain related programs.

Yonhap News

On the 19th (local time), Bloomberg News reported, citing multiple corporate representatives, that most corporations are maintaining the DEI policy not by retracting it but by adjusting the terminology or expressions. While there have been superficial changes, such as changing the title of "Diversity Officer" or reducing related budgets, the core system is still operational.

A typical example is Walmart. The company officially stopped using the term "DEI" last November and announced it would not consider factors such as race or gender in supplier contracts, sparking controversy. However, according to Bloomberg, Walmart's action was closer to a slight adjustment than a full retraction.

Currently, Walmart uses the term "Belonging" as a substitute for DEI, but still includes the phrase "seeking applicants who support DEI" in job postings. Some products are marketed with the phrase "LGBTQ+ founding brands," and advertising for brands certified in DEI is also ongoing.

This trend is not limited to Walmart. After interviewing over 20 senior executives from major U.S. corporations, Bloomberg found that most of these corporations are steadily implementing DEI-related programs, providing medical benefits for transgender employees or running recruitment programs in connection with historically black colleges and universities. Corporations like Ford, McDonald's, Deloitte, and Boeing are collaborating with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, a nonprofit organization related to black communities, to continue talent recruitment.

Some corporations are adopting a cautious stance publicly due to external criticism while internally strengthening DEI policies. The U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe’s recently announced restructuring and seemed to temporarily join an "anti-DEI" trend, but at the same time emphasized the diversity of its executive team and expressed a continuous commitment to DEI. A notable example is when Janice Dupre, vice president of Lowe’s, claimed in December, "Our management is one of the most diverse organizations among Fortune 500 companies."

President Trump designated DEI policies as "illegal racial discrimination" shortly after taking office in January. Since the 1980s, DEI policies have evolved into a concept that encompasses various minority groups beyond race, including gender, sexual orientation, disability, and veterans. However, in 2023, as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to abolish affirmative action policies in college admissions, the legitimacy of DEI policies was once again questioned.

In this situation, corporate legal teams are focusing on restructuring DEI-related programs to avoid clashing with the Trump administration's policy direction. According to a survey conducted by the law firm Littler Mendelson in February, more than half of corporate executives expressed increased concerns about "legal risks associated with DEI."

Nevertheless, legal professionals generally believe that an administrative order from the government alone cannot significantly shake the employment policies of private corporations. Most corporations are expected to maintain DEI policies by adjusting some expressions and operational methods.

Employment experts have also analyzed that companies are operating DEI policies in a more "subtle manner" recently. Subha Barry, president of DEI consulting firm Ceramount, noted, "Companies are responding quickly, and more than 90% of them will not make significant changes to their DEI policies in the long term."