DEI in decline
Corporate America's DEI retreat is accelerating as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House. Is the trend already being replicated in Australia?
In recent years, it has not been difficult to get large technology companies to talk about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Yet when Capital Brief this week asked Canva and Atlassian, Australia’s two biggest tech companies, whether they stood by DEI or such policies need a rethink, the answer was a resounding “no comment”.
The silence should not necessarily be taken as a sign that either company is rethinking DEI and is more likely an attempt to avoid getting drawn into a culture war.
Several unicorn startups (Airwallex, CultureAmp, Employment Hero), venture capital firms (Blackbird and Airtree) and the big four banks (ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac) were similarly tightlipped when contacted by Capital Brief — only Linktree would go on record as saying diversity and inclusion remained “fundamental to our company culture and the way we build our product”.
