‘Backpedaling on diversity and inclusion would be a huge mistake’

Given what’s happening across the Pond about diversity and inclusion (D&I), this year’s International Women’s Day promises to be particularly interesting.

Which brands will put their head above the parapet and commit publicly to continuing the D&I fight and taking proactive steps to address it? And which will temper the drum-banging of recent years and shrink back into the shadows, hoping that their previous promises and support will not be recalled?

A few years ago, equality was a supposed agenda point in every boardroom. Fast forward to 2025, and within a mere seven weeks of Trump taking the presidential stage once more, he’s described diversity, equity and inclusion programmes as ‘dangerous, demeaning, and immoral’ and imposed anti-DE&I orders.

It’s taken less than 50 days in office for one man to start to undo years of positive progress on D&I. Business policies are being watered down all over The States. From Walmart to McDonald’s, Meta, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Paramount and Google, US business leaders are backpedaling to form an orderly anti-woke queue behind Trump.

Some may be in genuine agreement with the president’s stance, and many will be doing so out of self-preservation and a certain fear – they need to align with the man who shouts the loudest. Either way, it’s a staggeringly quick change of tune. One leader coming forward to vocalise his thoughts this year was Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, announcing that businesses need more “masculine energy” because too much “feminine energy” is “neutering the corporate world”. So far, so depressing.

“It’s taken less than 50 days in office for one man to start to undo years of positive progress on D&I”

Whether people care about diversity or not – and I’d like to think that most people with common sense and a moral compass do – the issue is that Trump’s stance risks giving people a subconscious licence here in the UK not to prioritise it anymore.

That’s a huge mistake. It’s a risk not only to years of genuine progress, but a risk to business performance.

Diversity of thought is vital to individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. At the risk of repeating much-recited stats (although perhaps the message still hasn’t landed), McKinsey states that companies with a high level of racial and ethnic diversity in leadership are 35% more likely to have better financial performance. Decision-making is deemed to be 87% better among diverse teams. I could go on.

In some ways, these stats are particularly significant when applied to retail. Despite being run mostly by men, it’s a female industry. It’s targeted mostly at women. Women mostly hold the spending decisions in households. This industry – arguably more than ever – needs to maintain focus, momentum, and investment into achieving balance for both moral and commercial reasons.

“That’s a huge mistake. It’s a risk not only to years of genuine progress, but a risk to business performance”

Moreover, the diversity and inclusion conversation shouldn’t even be about ‘male energy’ or ‘female energy’. Ultimately, balance is what’s needed – a blend of all energies. Energies created by people of different genders, social backgrounds, different ethnicities, different neurological thinkers.

When you consider the data around gender – which our intelligence and insights editor George Arnett did so brilliantly last week in this Retail Week analysis, you can see how little progress is really being made in retail.

A report by The FTSE Women Leaders Review looked at progress against a voluntary target set in 2022 for 40% of company boards and leadership teams to be women by the end of this year.

When you drill down into the numbers, just half of the 30 major retailers named in the report are hitting the women in leadership target. Nearly two-thirds are hitting the target of women on boards.

However, some might argue that hiring a female non-exec into a part-time role is arguably more straightforward. What’s more, several female former chief executives in the last two years have told me they left their exec roles in pursuit of a less demanding non-exec life. For some, it’s a more manageable way of juggling life.

“Ultimately, balance is what’s needed – a blend of all energies. Energies created by people of different genders, social backgrounds, different ethnicities, different neurological thinkers”

The stalemate on progress is not necessarily for want of trying. I can’t speak for Zuckerberg et al, but from observations of UK retail, it’s not that most businesses simply don’t care. It’s quite the opposite. Most male chief executives over here appear genuinely committed to achieving more diverse boards irrespective of targets.

However, the war for talent in retail is real. Finding the right (and diverse) person for the role just isn’t always possible. The challenge remains systemic. And there still isn’t a pipeline of diverse leaders coming through the ranks.

Moreover, the priorities are coming in thick and fast. Business leaders are spinning more plates than ever. At a time when they’re head-down crunching post-Budget numbers, trying to please investors, create efficiencies, keep up with the pace of change, and focus on sustainability targets, Trump’s stance and that of the other global brands gives permission to allow the UK’s D&I plate to drop.

Doing so will come at a cost. Not tomorrow, maybe not next year, but certainly before long. Less diverse businesses will be less creative, less innovative and ultimately less successful. Leadership authenticity will come into question over this issue in the coming months. We all need to watch with interest.