DEI in 2023: trends,

challenges, and
brand initiatives

2023
Brands prioritizing DEI Forbes @billie
DEI — or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion — is an organizational practice that 

aims to promote representation and participation of different genders, races,
ages, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations. As representation
becomes exceedingly important, some brands are stepping up to make sure 

that everyone feels included.

Billie, the razor and body care brand who has found great success in North
America, took this past International Women’s Day as their chance to address
gender inequality. Its “Make This Vintage” t-shirt giveaway included shirts with
sexist sayings that should be vintage, but aren’t predicted to be until 2323.

More recently, Mattel, the leading global toy company responsible for Barbie
herself, has committed to making a more inclusive line of Barbie toys. For example,
when creating a Barbie Lunar New Year doll, the company relied on an internal
team of designers with culturally relevant backgrounds, consultation with
members of Mattel’s Asians and Pacific Islanders Employee Resource Group.
Designing with employees who have community specific knowledge and
experience not only creates great products, but bolsters a sense of belonging 

in the company itself.

Embracing DEI not only allows brands to perform well, but gives them the ability 

to target diverse groups that may have felt underrepresented in the past. When
inclusive practices take precedence, consumer loyalty increases, and brands all
7.3k + engagements
around can succeed.

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Brands facing backlash CNN
On the other end of the spectrum, conservative sites in the US have
taken massive offense to DEI initiatives, claiming them to be “woke.”

Chick-fil-a has long been seen as a conservative restaurant. They close 


on Sundays for religious reasons, they donate to conservative political
7k + engagements
candidates and causes, and their President even spoke out against same-
sex marriage in 2012. However, after noticing that the chain has a DEI
initiative, conservative influencers targeted their VP of DEI and began 

a boycott due to the restaurant’s forced “woke marketing.” 

And it isn’t just Chick-fil-a. Anheuser-Busch faced a PR nightmare after their CNBC
collaboration with transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. In an attempt 

to embrace DEI, the company put Mulvaney at the helm of their “Easy Carry
Contest.” The result? People across the globe boycotting the beer simply
because Mulvaney happens to be trans.

33.9k + engagements

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DEI in colleges The Texas Tribune
Many colleges value DEI initiatives. From hiring DEI professionals to
respecting affirmative action, these institutions are commonplace for
opportunity and inclusion. Unfortunately, many of these schools have
been hit hard by anti-DEI “boycotters,” just as other brands have.

11.1k + engagements
When Texas A&M hired Kathleen McElroy to revive their journalism school,
they were excited about her expertise in news media and race, with a focus
on how to improve diversity and inclusion within newsrooms. But her hiring
quickly fell through, as she learned that a number of constituents within the
system were expressing issues with her commitment to DEI. Ironically, this
news comes as many Texas schools prepare for a new 2024 law that will ban
offices, programs and training that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Over at the University of Oklahoma, donors have fled because of DEI

Fox News
initiatives. The university medical school created a "diversity alliance" 

to ensure equity was incorporated in all doings, but it has enraged alum, 

with them citing that the university is forcing “far-left agendas” on their
students. 

6.5k + engagements
It’s clear that schools value the importance of DEI, but intense backlash 

is enough for them to rescind their initiatives.

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Government initiatives CNN
Aside from the politicians gunning for more DEI practices, many 

governments have made it a point to ban these practices as a whole.

Ron DeSantis, presidential hopeful and Governor of Florida, has made it 


very clear he does not support DEI initiatives. In May, he signed legislation 
 9.4k + engagements
to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs at all state universities,
calling them a “distraction from the core mission.”

Under the law, Florida state universities are unable to spend state or federal
funds to promote, support or maintain any programs that “advocate for
diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social
activism.” “If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to (the University 

of California) Berkeley,” DeSantis added.
@BarackObama
Even further, millions across the US were enraged this June when the
Supreme Court decided to dismantle affirmative action in a 6-3 vote. 

This ruling ended a decades-long precedent that allowed higher-education
institutions to broadly consider applicants’ race in the admissions process.
Former President Barack Obama took to Twitter to voice his displeasure 
 189.7k + engagements
with the ruling, calling for all to “redouble our efforts.” 

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Links to referenced content

Brands prioritizing DEI

DEI in colleges

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpiAO4cj8Sk/
https://www.texastribune.org/2023/07/11/texas-a-m-kathleen-
mcelroy-journalism/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/corinnepost/2023/07/05/how-dei-led-new-
barbie-outdoor-apparel-every-body/?sh=3dbf68a848d0
https://www.foxnews.com/media/donors-flee-from-very-disturbed-
university-in-oklahoma-amid-radical-dei-agenda-better-named-die

Government Initiatives

Brands facing backlash

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/politics/desantis-signs-dei-
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/business/chick-fil-a-fake-controversy/
defunding-bill/index.html

index.html

https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1674442710927785989

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/27/bud-light-maker-anheuser-busch-
announces-layoffs.html

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Thank you!
How Ford used predictive data 

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