Andrew Behar is CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility.
DEI is everywhere these days. Perhaps you attended Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training at work or heard the loaded term “DEI hire” on cable news. Advocates argue diversity initiatives dismantle systemic biases that keep the best workers from being hired and promoted. Critics say these programs are discriminatory and leave white workers behind. Executives and board directors have had to walk a fine line, but ultimately, they report to shareholders. As this year’s proxy voting season approached, the business community wondered: Would investors vote to dismantle or defend DEI?
Proposals from one serial anti-DEI filer asked companies to “terminate all DEI policies and programs that grant or deny employment or advancement opportunities based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics.” On the surface, few would argue that opportunity should not be based on race or sex, but the underlying intent of anti-DEI resolutions was to exploit racist and misogynistic tropes with little regard for the business.
Thanks to well-funded anti-DEI crusaders, a once-obscure acronym for corporate diversity programs is now part of the cultural lexicon. In targeting companies with lawsuits, executive orders, legislation, and shareholder resolutions, the politically motivated campaign hell-bent on stopping the erosion of white dominance forced C-suites and boardrooms across America to articulate—sometimes for the first time—why diversity is essential to financial performance.
The 2025 proxy season affirmed diversity as an essential business principle grounded in business data, immune to fleeting political pressures. The dramatic confrontations that played out at over 20 companies solidified DEI’s place in the corporate world. For investors, executives, and employees alike, the message was loud and unmistakable: Corporate diversity programs aren’t going away—they are stronger than ever.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
