• Investing
  • Stock
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Economy
The Significant Deals
Stock

Trump’s DEI cuts force Davos elite to find new words for diversity

by January 22, 2025
written by January 22, 2025

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s escalating pressure on the private sector to ditch diversity programs has left some in Davos searching for new words to describe workplace practices they say are essential to their businesses.

Trump has issued a series of executive orders cutting federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, which attempt to promote opportunities for women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other traditionally underrepresented groups.

He has also sought to dissuade private companies that receive government contracts from factoring underrepresentation into hiring decisions.

Trump’s moves on DEI have reverberated through the corridors of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, where gender parity, diverse workforces and better representation of minorities around the world continue to be key goals.

While tech companies Meta (NASDAQ:META) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which hold U.S. government contracts, say they are scaling back some initiatives, other executives at Davos told Reuters they will remain, if by another name.

“There’s a lot of talk and a lot of maybe even controversy around the names of things,” said Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of Portugal’s largest utility company EDP,, which has 40% of its investments focused on renewable energy in the U.S.

“The important thing is we want to have the best talent in the company, from wherever it may be, men, women, different ethnicities, and we want to make sure that people … have the best working conditions and feel comfortable,” he said.

“We’re not working for DEI tick the box,” Stilwell added.

Other policymakers and executives said the acronym DEI had become damaging, even as they doubled down on their commitment to diversity.

“It became toxic, as has ESG, and there are some wrong reasons for that and there are some right reasons for that,” Luftey Siddiqi, Special Envoy of the Head of the Interim Government of Bangladesh, said on a panel about gender parity.

“But I’m more interested in what is effective, how do we get to the result as opposed to the label,” Siddiqi added.

DEI initiatives were introduced by many companies and governments around the world to address historical inequities in the workforce. While some gains have been made in recent years, gender parity has not been reached in any country.

Proponents warn that continued rollbacks may endanger recent advances.

TECH CONTRACTS

Reuters spoke with at least three tech executives whose companies have contracts with the U.S. government. They said they remained committed to diversity programs in the workplace.

Although the risk of losing contracts because of Trump’s executive orders would force them to look for new ways to describe DEI initiatives, they would not cut them entirely.

One European tech company executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that it would not be rowing back on its commitment to inclusion and diversity.

“For many years we have worked to shape a more sustainable, equitable world. It’s rooted in our company culture,” the person said.

“The world is diverse and employee base reflects that diversity. It is one of the keys to great innovation and is good for business.”

Not all in Davos share that sentiment.

Alexandr Wang, CEO of high-profile start-up Scale AI, cheered Trump’s executive orders in a post on X and called for the promotion of MEI (merit, excellence and intelligence) in tech.

Nikki Haley, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also welcomed what she said was a retreat from DEI.

“In every business, you are starting to see pulling back from DEI and I welcome that, I think it’s really important,” Haley told a panel on the sidelines of the WEF meeting.

“What we’re seeing in America, everybody just wants to be Americans. They don’t want to be a label. They don’t feel like they can take it anymore,” Haley added.

One European industrial company with a large U.S. footprint said it would continue with its diversity and inclusion programs because they were important to the business as well as society.

“We will stick to our values of tolerance and respect; inclusion is important,” a board member told Reuters, adding: “Companies need to stay the course of the agenda in terms of values and policies, and that’s what we’re doing.”

“You want diverse opinions in the room and you want every opinion to have a similar weight. You want to move away from group think, especially when the pace of change is so rapid.”

MONEY FLOWS

Investment in diversity is also unlikely to dry up because of Trump’s moves, said bankers at Davos.

“For the investors of this world, ESG criteria – of which DEI is a part – are very important and will continue to be very important,” said Bain & Company’s Alexander Schmitz, who heads up the firm’s Private Equity practice in EMEA.

“When I look at it from a higher level, the overarching, mega themes of ESG investing are still there: I haven’t seen much rolling back of that as yet. If you are a private equity fund and start rolling back DEI strategies, then – among other effects – you will likely have a problem in fundraising and that’s not where you want to be.”

Bank of America Chief Executive Brian Moynihan described diversity as having “commercial logic”.

“There’s going to be a lot of good, courageous conversations going on,” Moynihan said. “Do we have the thoughtful balance right in companies and institutions … Do we have the balance right that everybody feels included?”

This post appeared first on investing.com
0 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail

previous post
Trump signs memorandum to counter cost-of-living crisis
next post
Exclusive-OpenAI tells India court ChatGPT data removal will breach US legal obligations

You may also like

BASF results down on impairments, restructuring

January 27, 2025

European chipmakers slump as traders gauge DeepSeek AI...

January 27, 2025

Nasdaq futures tumble as China’s AI push rattles...

January 27, 2025

China Vanke’s CEO, chairman resign amid growing liquidity...

January 27, 2025

Fuji Media, rocked by sexual misconduct allegations, says...

January 27, 2025

Italy’s MPS shares fall ahead of Mediobanca board...

January 27, 2025

British Land stock drops following stake sale

January 27, 2025

UMG shares rally after new multi-year pact with...

January 27, 2025

BASF shares indicated 3% lower as impairments drag...

January 27, 2025

Ryanair cuts 2026 traffic forecast amid ongoing Boeing...

January 27, 2025
Fill Out & Get More Relevant News








    Stay ahead of the market and unlock exclusive trading insights & timely news. We value your privacy - your information is secure, and you can unsubscribe anytime. Gain an edge with hand-picked trading opportunities, stay informed with market-moving updates, and learn from expert tips & strategies.

    Recent Posts

    • Divided Fed proposes rule to ease capital requirements for big Wall Street banks

      June 26, 2025
    • Women’s Tennis Association extends media rights deal with Tennis Channel through 2032

      June 26, 2025
    • Bumble shares jump 26% as dating company plans to axe 30% of workforce

      June 26, 2025
    • Small-business AI use is lagging, but one firm is channeling Sherlock Holmes and knocking out ‘grunt work’

      June 25, 2025

    Categories

    • Economy (245)
    • Editor's Pick (3,646)
    • Investing (534)
    • Stock (6,426)

    Latest News

    • Divided Fed proposes rule to ease capital requirements for big Wall Street banks
    • Women’s Tennis Association extends media rights deal with Tennis Channel through 2032

    Popular News

    • UnitedHealth confirms 190 million Americans affected by hack at tech unit, TechCrunch reports
    • Microsoft CEO Nadella forms new AI group to build and run apps for customers

    About The Significant deals

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms & Conditions

    Copyright © 2025 thesignificantdeals.com | All Rights Reserved

    The Significant Deals
    • Investing
    • Stock
    • Editor’s Pick
    • Economy