DEI isn’t a trend – and it never has been
Written by: Jen Smith, Director of People & Operations
It's been an interesting few months, watching the world's largest and arguably most influential corporations react to the current US Administration's DEI position. Meta, Amazon, Disney and Google have all taken significant steps to either silence, hide or outright abolish a swath of DEI initiatives as part of their new corporate strategy.
Branded ‘dangerous’, ‘damaging’, and ‘unnecessary’ by some, the sudden 180-degree turn on the efforts that have gathered momentum since their inception in the 1960s may feel like it’s come out of nowhere. But momentum is building, and brands and agencies alike are facing pressures to conform with backwards thinking - especially when it comes to business relationships across the pond.
But Eulogy has not - and never has been - in the business of following the crowd.
At Eulogy, our message is very simple. Diversity and inclusion isn’t a trend. It isn’t a gimmick. And it isn’t a badge to be discarded when some outspoken leaders change direction so quickly. It’s in the fabric of our mission as a business and a vital component of our success.
In short, our commitments aren’t going anywhere. So, what does this look like for us in 2025?
Why is DEI so important to us at Eulogy?
We’re proud of our DIB team – the Eulogites responsible for building a culture of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging where we recognise the strength and power gained from different perspectives, voices, backgrounds, beliefs and experiences.
We have built longstanding relationships with crucial charity partners such as Stop Hate UK and the Taylor Bennet Foundation. We’ve hosted workshops and led mock interviews to support disadvantaged youths through The Talent Tap. And we’ve championed the work of incredible charities such as Chance to Shine and Candidate X through our incubator programme Elevator and both pro-bono and tendered work.
Within the organisation itself, we’re committed to posting all vacancies on a range of equitable hiring boards, utilising blind hiring to reduce unconscious bias, and offering work experience opportunities to open the doors for underrepresented groups.
Why have we gone to all this effort? We could make the point about the business benefits of an inclusive workforce - how diverse employees come up with diverse creative ideas, or how a wide range of perspectives will create work that is truly representative of the global audience.
We could also cite numerous sources that explain the economic benefits of diverse teams: they are 39% more likely to outperform less diverse teams in terms of profitability, according to McKinsey, and they enjoy 20% more creativity and 19% higher revenue from innovation, according to the World Economic Forum.
But let’s be honest. The business benefits come, as they should, secondary to the simple fact that DEI is a moral imperative. Building a workplace that empowers everyone – regardless of background, race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality – to be their best, true selves, is simply the right thing to do.
Everyone deserves a chance to thrive, and that takes concerted effort to level the playing field and ensure we all have access to the same opportunities.
How should brands be responding?
The majority of organisations rolling back their DEI policies are based in the US and cite political pressures as a key cause of change.
So it’s heartening to see British stalwarts refusing to buckle under these pressures. Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq announced recently that DEI was true to Co-op’s founding principles and that it would continue to champion fairness having seen the benefits.
“Rolling back on DEI isn’t just an internal business decision, it has real-world consequences,” she told the Guardian. “It is no coincidence that the drive to reverse inclusion efforts is often led by those who already hold advantage – those who benefit from an unlevel playing field.”
Other brands with a global presence have used the recent news as an opportunity to double down on their successes in DEI, with Sephora’s executive Artemis Patrick asserting that “it’s just smart business.”
Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, put the case for DEI simply in LBB: “It’s good for business. It’s morally right. We’re quite good at it.”
These kinds of statements aren’t just a grab for good press. They show the commonsense attitude that underpins a successful commitment to diversity and inclusion and prove that diversity and inclusion shouldn’t be a political issue.
So see this tumultuous time as an opportunity to redouble DEI efforts, instead of scaling them back. Crucial progress has been made, but there is still so much more to be done.
Now isn’t the time for business as usual. With so much at stake, it’s important to be loud, consistent, and accountable in your DEI efforts. Work with trusted charity partners, be vocal about your commitments and targets, and ensure you are being transparent and thorough in your reporting.
We’re committed to learning, evolving, and doing our best to not just shout about DEI, but to prove it. In today’s world, this commitment has never been so important.
The world is diverse. The audiences that brands cater to are diverse. So the question is: why should your work be any different?
