The diversity, equity and inclusion industry — known as DEI — exploded in 2020 and 2021.
To be sure, in the summer of 2020, one could argue there was a public mandate to “do something.” Between September 2019 and September 2020, job postings for DEI rose by 56%. A LinkedIn study found that chief diversity and inclusion officer positions grew by 168% from 2019 to 2020.
Since then, however, the enthusiasm for shifting more resources to DEI has fallen off a cliff. A survey of 600 companies conducted by data firm Revelio labs found one in three DEI professionals lost their roles in 2023.
The trend continues at a rapid pace as we hear daily reports of companies slashing DEI budgets or eliminating the departments entirely. News outlets such as The New York Times and New York magazine have published articles that have raised skepticism about the field.
The reasons for the about-face are numerous. A sluggish economy and sky-high prices are clearly factors. But there are also deeper issues. Critics argue that DEI is a divisive political ideology that pits people against each other. Worse, they say, it can be used to stifle speech.
Are these criticisms unfounded? Ironic as it is, for a term that includes the word “inclusion,” someone who questions the value of DEI may find themselves at odds with political activists who will stop at little to make sure they don’t ask questions again.
Whatever the reasons for the spike in demand and subsequent retreat from DEI initiatives, it’s clear the honeymoon is over. There is no longer a public mandate. In the private sector, where companies have a responsibility to shareholders, employees and customers, the adjustments have been swift.
In government, however, it’s not so easy to reverse course. In 2020, the Naperville City Council directed staff to create a DEI department and has since budgeted more than $200,000 a year for employee salaries and benefits and expenditures. If approved again in the 2025 budget, Naperville taxpayers will have spent about $1 million on a DEI program that has yet to yield any measurable return on investment to the taxpayer.
Naperville taxpayers are already facing financial headwinds in an aging city in need of costly infrastructure upgrades, exacerbated by the inflationary pressures we all feel. Another big hit will be Gov. JB Pritzker’s grocery tax repeal set to hit city budgets in 2026 and expected to result in an estimated $5 million loss to the city.
Sharpening the pencil on the city budget is certainly in order, and DEI should be on the short list of where to tighten. But, unlike the private sector, it’s much more difficult for government to eliminate underperforming investments.
Why is it so hard? Because of politics. And in the case of DEI, questioning the wisdom of continuing to force taxpayers to fund it will surely get arrows hurled in your direction from political activists. But I say that is what we should expect from leadership. A willingness to take on the hard issues, knowing the arrows are coming.
Josh McBroom, a former Naperville Park Board commissioner, was elected to the Naperville City Council in April 2023.
