‘Bigotry is suddenly acceptable again’: Anti-DEI push meets with spike in workplace discrimination
Considering the tone of the culture and torrent of concerning news reports lately, it seems a fair question: Is bigotry making a comeback?
The evidence appears to suggest, yes. As the headline in The Dallas Morning News put it: “Bigotry is suddenly acceptable again.”
Actor Adrian Brody, after picking up a Bafta award for his work in The Brutalist, declared that “there’s no place anymore for antisemitism, racism or petty bigotry.”
When the U.S. National Parks Service recently removed the “T” from LGBT on the Stonewall National Monument in New York, one writer commented that, ultimately, “erasing trans history reflects bigotry’s losing hand.”
As organizations confront rapid-fire shifts in federal policies around DEI, the latest research reveals that bias of all kinds is becoming a bigger issue in the workplace — and it’s not a problem confined just to the U.S.
Nearly half the U.K. workforce reports having experienced discrimination at work or during a job search, according to a survey of 4,000 adults by HR software firm Ciphr. A separate study warned that workplace bias against young women has hit a three-year high.
The findings come as a growing group of corporations — including Amazon, McDonald’s and Walmart — scuttle DEI programs, doing away with longtime support and protections for historically underserved and vulnerable groups and leaving HR professionals to navigate an increasingly complex domain.
The spike in acts of intolerance affects a range of demographics. Ciphr’s study found that more than three-quarters of Black respondents determined they were recently discriminated against, while 2 in 3 younger workers (aged 18-34) also had. Other reports note that cases of sexual harassment are on the rise, particularly among young LGBT workers.
These unsettling developments come as the U.S. government, under the Trump administration, bulldozes through a spectrum of worker safeguards — including those designed to protect the disabled.
“Any form of discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation and intolerance in the workplace is unacceptable and can have a huge negative impact on people’s lives,” said Claire Williams, Ciphr’s COO. “It can take a considerable toll on their mental and physical health and their self-esteem and can be incredibly stressful to cope with. It can also derail careers, with unfair dismissals or people not being given equal opportunities to progress and be paid fairly.”
Amanda Ralston, founder and CEO of consulting firm NonBinary Solutions, suggests that how employers respond to the current environment largely depends on their existing culture. “Companies that recognize diversity, equity, inclusion and justice as vital to innovation, employee engagement and long-term success will double down and find ways to keep the work moving forward,” she said.
Ralston advocates for integrating DEI principles into the core of organizational operations rather than treating them as separate initiatives. “Policies can’t exist in silos; they must be woven into the fabric of how we operate,” she said. Such an integrated approach becomes especially critical as organizations face increased scrutiny of their DEI policies.
“Companies should focus on ensuring that they implement bias blockers across their people processes, from recruitment to onboarding to talent development and remuneration,” said Copenhagen Business School associate professor and DEI expert Poornima Luthra. That approach, she argues, can help create sustainable systemic change while demonstrating organizational commitment to fairness and inclusion.
Discrimination is on the upswing not only across demographics but also across industries, Ciphr’s research reveals. It is most prevalent in the information research and analysis sector, where 8 in 10 of those surveyed reported experiencing discrimination.
Even talent managers themselves are not immune, as more than half of recruiters and HR professionals surveyed said they, too, experienced prejudice at work.
Despite the war against workplace defenses, Ann Allcock, Ciphr’s head of diversity, argues that organizations “simply can’t afford to continue taking the hit from the negative consequences of discrimination in terms of impact on employee engagement, productivity and wasted talent. They need to fully use their people data and focus their efforts on tailored actions and training to both prevent discrimination and address it robustly where it does occur.”
Experts recommend that employers maintain not only robust anti-discrimination policies but also implement diversity training, conduct regular culture assessments, establish clear reporting procedures and throw their support behind employee resource groups.
Those tools, they say, can enable HR departments to foster an environment where employees feel secure even as employers face enormous outside pressure to dismantle protections so many workers have come to rely on.