With diversity, equity and inclusion that quickly fall into Washington, the workforce evaluates whether a similar approach is likely to go to this side of the Atlantic.
However, whatever, some DEI leaders remain convinced that the solid employment laws of Great Britain will guarantee that minorities continue to be defended and protected in the workplace in the middle of a world Up against the rules dei.
In the United Kingdom, the Labor Government has undertaken to maintain the rights of which Bill on employment rights. The proposed law, which saw more than 200 new amendments published last week, will strengthen workplace protections around sexual harassment, maternity, sex and illness – while prohibiting and limiting exploitation practices such as dismissal and heating, and zero hours.
Another bill, the equality bill (race and disability), will oblige large companies to include race and disability data in the disclosure of the remuneration difference. These laws will complement the existing equality law, which makes it illegal for organizations to discriminate people according to factors such as race, sex, sexual orientation or age.
While the United Kingdom has a series of current and incoming laws of Dei, Hannah Ford, employment partner of the law firm Stevens & Bolton, warns that they will not prevent the country from being “withdrawn with the wave of US regressive initiatives”.
She says that British companies belonging to American mother companies or who seek to develop in America can be forced to match what it describes as the “political and populism of the United States of Dei financing”.
Laura Probert, Director of Persons of Technological Society Exclaim, agrees with this feeling: “Generally, when something happens in the United States, the United Kingdom feels the effects of undulation.”
However, Probert and Ford think that companies based in the United Kingdom which cancel or cancel the initiatives of Dei will eventually regret their decisions. For Probert, such a decision would lead to companies that lose talented people who “are determined to do things well”.
Ford warns that the reduction of Dei initiatives could “hinder growth” in British companies by provoking poor job retention and recruitment, and opening them up for discrimination.
Since his return to the White House in January, President Donald Trump has eliminated the objectives of the previous government, has made federal initiatives and put federal workers from the DEI on leave. Trump has also threatened to reduce the federal funding of schools and universities that promote the causes of Dei, a decision recently blocked and deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Other threats of legal proceedings have prompted certain American companies – notably Meta, Pepsi, Coca -Cola, McDonald's, Jpmorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Disney and Deloitte – to cancel or recalibrate their dei efforts.
Trump's decision to dismantle Dei's efforts “will disilar” the hard work that US companies have undertaken in recent decades to improve Diversity of the workplace And send a “destructive message” to other countries, including the United Kingdom, which have made progress in the promotion of Dei, argues that John Paul Caffery, founder and managing director of the Ramp Global recruitment agency.
“These reflex actions taken by American companies have established a precedent dangerous for other regions such as the United Kingdom,” he said. “The big players in Silicon Valley have a world scope and their influences will undoubtedly extend to the company based in the United Kingdom.”
Although Caffery opposes the anti -dei attitude of America, he wonders if other factors – not only the disgust of the last government for Dei – contributed to this situation. “The intense acceleration of Dei in recent years has left many companies unable to tangibly measure their results, with (objectives) unrealistic that have established companies and recruits to fail,” he said.
Some believe, however, that recent Dei developments in the United States are part of a broader trend in the priority of Dei companies which takes place on a global scale. Daniel Snell, co-founder of the arrival of the organization of corporate social change, believes that “more complex” and “costly” market conditions have prompted businesses worldwide to reassess their DEI commitments. “Dei has ceased to be an absolute priority for most executives at least 24 months ago,” he said.
Peter Cheese, Managing Director From the Staff and Development Charting Institute, expects British companies to re -evaluate their Dei programs in the light of American news. But he does not believe that they will abandon completely. “It is important for business, as well as the company, which we continue to support inclusion as a motor of positive commercial results,” he said.
While a report commissioned by the previous British government said that the Dei programs lacked rigor and had not followed the impact, an Alixpartners survey found that two thirds of managers believe that initiatives related to social issues – in particular diversity, inclusion and human rights – have had a positive impact on the economic performance of their business.
There are many signs that Dei will remain a significant commitment to British companies in the months and years to come. The British branch of McDonald's, for example, is committed to maintaining its efforts – including a target of minorities occupying 40% of the steering positions of the fast food chain by the end of the decade – unlike its American parent, which abandoned such targets.
In a similar decision, the director general of Deloitte UK, Richard Houston, sent an email to the staff to say that diversity would continue to be “a priority” for the company, even after Deloitte US has abandoned his program and said to the staff working on government projects Avoid stating their gender pronouns in emails.
The UK Tech Union Prospect also puts pressure on British politicians to ensure that American multinationals fulfill their obligations in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, a study by Apella and market researcher's advisers is now revealed that half of British citizens believe that British companies according to their American counterparts in the abandonment of Dei would be a “bad” decision.
The principles of diversity and inclusion in the workplace are also devoted in British law, which makes it more difficult for companies to neglect the commitments of Dei in Great Britain. “Unlike the United States, where certain DEI initiatives are politically disputed, British organizations are required to comply with existing legal obligations concerning equality, reasonable adjustments and differences on differences,” explains Kelly Thomson, partner of the FURNITY FUNCATION RPC.
For this reason, she says that US companies with operations in the United Kingdom and in other parts of the world will be challenged to balance “competing pressures through the courts,” she adds. To comply with pro-dei regulations in the United Kingdom and the EU, and to manage “the evolution of discourse in the United States”, Thomson urges these companies to be “clear and intentional about their global Dei strategies”.
The sudden change in America's heart can even be an opportunity for the United Kingdom. Tosin James-Tudukoya, responsible for the inclusion, diversity and well-being of the heritage management company Quilter, affirms that the country could become a world leader in Dei if he focuses on the supply of “long-term changes”. “Instead of reacting to American trends, we must double what works: strong legislation, data based on data and targeted interventions in socio-economic education and mobility,” she says.
Matt Darling, director of the acquisition of talents at Consultancy BIP UK, also sees the opportunity for the United Kingdom “to intensify and consolidate its position as leader in diversity and inclusion”. “By strengthening our commitment to Dei, we can demonstrate that diversity and inclusion are not only ethical imperatives, but also the main engines of economic growth, innovation and long-term commercial success,” he said.
