America’s retreat from diversity: Europe’s opportunity

America’s corporate giants are quietly deleting diversity from their playbooks. Europe’s firms should not follow suit; instead, now is precisely the moment for them to double down on inclusion—and gain a decisive competitive edge.

For years, ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion’ (DEI) featured prominently in American corporate discourse. CEOs and boards routinely positioned these values at the heart of their strategies, eager to demonstrate commitment to social responsibility and ethical leadership.

Yet today, this commitment faces a sudden reversal, with hundreds of major US firms quietly deleting references to DEI from their annual reports.

Recent analysis by the Financial Times, drawing on FactSet data, revealed that over 200 of America’s largest companies have culled mentions of DEI terms such as ‘diversity’ or ‘inclusion’ from their latest filings.

Among the top 400 firms in the S&P 500 index that have published annual reports since President Donald Trump’s return to office, an astonishing 90 per cent have significantly pared back their public DEI language, with many abandoning the terminology altogether.

Just last week, JPMorgan’s chief operations officer Jennifer Piepszak told staff that the bank was “changing ‘equity’ to ‘opportunity’ and renaming our [DEI] organisation to diversity, opportunity and inclusion (DOI) because the ‘e’ always meant equal opportunity to us, not equal outcomes”.

Politics over business

The driver of this rapid retreat is political rather than commercial. President Trump’s administration has placed DEI firmly within its crosshairs, portraying it as emblematic of corporate ‘wokeness’—part of a broader cultural struggle.

Firms once eager to associate their brands with social justice and progressive values now find themselves wary of alienating influential conservative voices or attracting regulatory scrutiny.

This reversal has alarmed advocates of workplace equity, who warn it risks undoing hard-won progress in racial and gender representation.

Yet some American corporate leaders privately maintain that the substance of DEI initiatives continues quietly behind closed doors, driven by market realities and internal culture rather than public relations.

Even if true, the public silence itself is telling: corporate America seems unwilling to defend DEI openly, suggesting a victory for opponents who have successfully reframed diversity as divisive rather than empowering.

As America steps back, a significant opportunity emerges for Europe

European businesses, operating in a different political and cultural environment, are not obliged—and arguably not incentivised—to follow America’s lead. On the contrary, there are compelling reasons for European firms to continue, and even intensify, their commitment to DEI.

First, DEI policies in Europe are closely linked to regulatory frameworks aimed at gender balance, pay transparency, and inclusive governance. Initiatives such as mandatory gender quotas on boards in France, Germany, and Norway, or rigorous pay equity legislation in the UK, already set Europe apart from the United States.

Far from being optional or symbolic, these policies have become part of the fundamental operating environment. For European firms, turning away from DEI could risk regulatory compliance, reputational damage, and competitive disadvantage.

Moreover, DEI offers tangible market benefits that could prove even more pronounced as American firms retreat. Customers—particularly younger generations across Europe—are demonstrably more likely to patronise businesses that visibly align with inclusive values.

As American competitors hesitate, European companies positioned clearly on the side of diversity may find themselves capturing market share and customer loyalty. A commitment to inclusion could also bolster employer branding, attracting top international talent who value workplaces built on fairness, openness, and equal opportunity.

There are broader strategic gains as well. With the US potentially retreating from visible DEI commitments, European firms have an opportunity to project themselves globally as more socially responsible corporate actors.

Opening doors

This reputational edge could open doors in markets outside Europe, particularly in regions where diversity is increasingly seen as essential to good business. European multinationals that firmly maintain DEI commitments may find themselves better positioned in global supply chains and partnerships, differentiating themselves from American counterparts now viewed as hesitant or politically compromised.

However, the European embrace of DEI must remain substantive rather than superficial. Merely using diversity as branding, without deeper internal transformation, risks backlash. For DEI to generate genuine advantage, it must be embedded authentically into corporate structures, from recruitment and talent development to leadership and decision-making processes.

In short, America’s retreat from DEI represents a risk—and a lost opportunity—at precisely the moment when inclusivity could prove a defining advantage. European firms that persist, authentically and publicly, in their commitments to DEI stand not only to cement their reputations, but also to build sustainable competitive strength.

As American firms waver in the face of political headwinds, Europe now has the chance to firmly establish diversity and inclusion as fundamental pillars of business success, market differentiation, and long-term growth.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

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