DEI’s next era? Reorientation, says SHRM’s Johnny Taylor Jr.

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ORLANDO — Last year was defined not just by diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks, but by President Donald Trump coming down hard on DEI, with federal agencies enforcing the White House’s agenda accordingly.

Legal challenges to Trump’s anti-DEI orders haven’t seen significant success, but earlier this month, 20 attorneys general sued the administration over a contractor-related DEI order.

Acknowledging that the goalpost for HR professionals in the U.S. changes day by day, SHRM’s CEO and president, Johnny Taylor Jr., predicted that the future of corporate inclusion is going to be a “bumpy” ride over the next two years, particularly at the intersection of culture and law.

He pointed to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and how it is approaching Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “For the first time, I've heard the EEOC consistently referred to as a law enforcement agency. We know that's what they do — Title VII — but it's not the way you think of them,” Taylor told HR Dive on June 17 at SHRM’s annual conference.