Resist and Assist: The Inclusion Allies Coalition’s Response to the Recent Executive Orders

February 10, 2025 | Inclusion Alllies Coalition |

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Recently, the Trump administration issued three executive orders designed to terminate the employment of federal government diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) program managers and close the doors on all federal DEI programs. These orders ignore four decades of bipartisan progress in eliminating systemic bias and discrimination in the workplace for millions of Americans.

As one Treasury Department employee belonging to an LGBTQ+-related ERG said, “I’ve been here for four years, and in that time, we’ve made progress to help employees have a better-lived work experience. Four years later in the snap of fingers, our work is being completely undone. … It’s one step forward, two steps back. I feel despair at the moment.”

Adding to the despair is the continual (and predictable) mischaracterization of DEI to spark outrage and justify its elimination. At the forefront of these comments is the notion that DEI is a perceived threat to meritocracy and intended to be a divisive strategy to divide society based on race. DEI has been blamed for everything from the bridge collapse in Baltimore to the quality problems of Boeing 737-800s, the wildfires that ravaged parts of Los Angeles and the D.C. plane crash.

Though President Trump disavowed any awareness or connection to it, the steps taken last week follow the plans in the Project 2025 document, a 900-page policy “wish list” designed to expand presidential power and impose an ultra-conservative social vision. They go as far as encouraging federal agencies to report those in the private sector who continue to do DEI work.

In these times, all of us need to stand together against the cruel impacts of the orders, especially – but not only – the order banning transgender people from military service and asserting that the Federal Government will only recognize people as either male or female, signaling to millions of Americans who identify as non-binary that they don’t belong in the military or as part of American society in general.

In response to the Orders and the number of individuals who will be impacted, the Inclusion Allies Coalition has adopted a posture of “Resist and Assist” which includes:

RESIST: ADVOCACY

  • Organize resistance to anti-DEI policies through the formation of a larger Inclusion Allies Advocacy Network composed of DEI-related organizations
  • Provide thoughtful rebuttal and challenge misinformation with accurate, verifiable data on the benefits and results achieved through DEI work
  • Create a Multicultural, Multigenerational Working Group on Reframing DEI, which will include stakeholder research as well as public perception research
  • Continue Diversity Matters. Equity Matters. Inclusion Matters. social media campaign to provide examples of the positive impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

ASSIST: COMMUNITY

  • Continue to be a haven for the DEI community to support each other
  • Create a new Career Resilience Community for people who have lost DEI jobs/work
  • Strengthen support for the DEI Embattled States Community
  • Respect the choices of members/practitioner who  may decide to dim the light/reframe/leave their DEI work

RESIST & ASSIST: EDUCATION AND RESOURCES

  • Educate members on what we are facing and how we can respond organizationally and individually, while staying in compliance with federal mandates
  • Provide monthly webinars focused on different marginalized groups being attacked consisting of an overview of the legislative and policy landscape, the experiences of individuals in these groups and what we can do organizationally and individually to support each group
  • Create resources on how to communicate with employees and leaders
  • Build skills to help heal the divide by generous listening, curiosity, and dialogue

The IAC’s Leadership and Board, together with the broader Inclusion Allies Advocacy Network are committed to being the voice of the DEI profession responding to the ongoing attacks, reassessing our work, and standing stronger together in community as we evolve into the next stage of DEI.