Why Aussie companies are resisting the Trump playbook on DEI

Australian companies remain committed to diversity, equity and inclusion programs despite a growing backlash spurred on by the re-election of Donald Trump.

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But first: a similar anti-DEI backlash to that in the US has been bubbling away in Australia, albeit at a lower temperature, for years.

Equality advocates confirmed they had experienced an uptick in employee opposition to these programs recently, as we explained in the first of a series of DEI stories published over the past week.

The reasons why are varied. Many companies failed to convincingly explain the rationale for these programs, allowing critics to paint them as a zero-sum game in which women gained all the benefits, while other employers alienated men by dismissing those who raised concern as bigots or misogynists.

But where the Australian story is expected to differ from the US version is in how its businesses respond.

In the US, companies such as Meta, Harley-Davidson, Walmart, Ford?and?McDonald’s have cosied up to Trump and pandered to unhappy customers by scaling back or abandoning their DEI programs.

But Australia is different to the US in more ways than one.

Even if we ignore the major differences in political structures and social norms, there is at least one major barrier to a widespread retreat from DEI in Australia: its laws and regulations.

A legislative framework that includes mandatory reporting to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency , the publication of employers’ gender pay gaps, and obligations on employers to take proactive steps to eliminate workplace sexual harassment means a major local retreat from DEI is less likely.

Still, the topic is undoubtedly a sensitive one for Australian business leaders. If we needed further evidence of that, we got it over the weekend when just four out of 20 top ASX-listed companies provided on-the-record comments to Financial Review questions about DEI.

Only Fortescue , Telstra , Goodman Group and WiseTech Global provided comments, all of which expressed their commitment to diversity and inclusion and highlighted its benefits.

But while no companies suggested they were planning to scale back their DEI commitments, the remaining 16 in the ASX 20 either failed to acknowledge the questions, declined to comment, or pointed our reporters?to previous reports or existing policies.

“These programs will continue – they just won’t be publicly spoken about,” Gartner ’s Aaron McEwan said, adding that companies were convinced of the benefits of greater workplace diversity.

普华永道 Workforce Advisory partner Elizabeth Shaw added that while DEI will survive the backlash, the DEI “brand” might not – because, like the term “feminism”, it has become too politically charged.

“When you break down what we actually mean by ‘feminism’, or what ‘DEI’ looks like in workplaces, most people are actually broadly supportive,” Shaw said.

“But the acronym is suffering this fatal blow … because it’s becoming really polarising.”

So, yes, the backlash is real.

But, as leading company directors and DEI advocates confirmed on Monday, Australian employers won’t give up the fight.

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