How will meetings adjust as the increasing politization and divisiveness associated with the term for diversity, equity and inclusion — DEI — causes more corporate sponsors to back off from supporting diverse events?

Toyota became the latest company to throttle back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as the term, and the concept, becomes increasingly politicized and polarizing. Part of its rollbacks, announced in a memo last week, include halting support of events that fall outside of STEM education and workforce-focused initiatives — including Pride Parades and other LGBTQ+ events. According to news reports, the announcement came on the heels of pressure from an anti-DEI activist who had aimed his sights at the car company for, among other policies he described as “woke,” hosting LGBTQ+ events at corporate facilities and “a total commitment to DEI policies.”

Other large companies that have rolled back their DEI commitments include the Tractor Supply Company and John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Brown-Foreman Corp., Ford and Molson-Coors. DEI backlash also is happening on the association side, most recently when the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) announced it was dropping the “equity” part of DEI from its diversity and inclusion program, citing research that indicates DEI is linked in many people’s minds to business polarization.

And it has been polarizing on the meeting side as well — though mostly in the opposite direction, with DEI growing in importance for meeting and events organizers even as corporate sponsors draw back from it.

For example, the ripple effects of politically divisive state laws already have caused planners to rethink their site selection choices. According to 7th Annual State of the Meetings & Convention Industry study, conducted by Future Partners in collaboration with Miles Partnership and Digital Edge, almost two thirds of planners agreed with the statement, “A destination must align with our members’ values in order to host our meetings/events.” More than half said controversial issues had made them reconsider destinations, and more than 60% felt the impact of local politics on destination selection will increase in the future. More than half also anticipated an increase in the importance of DEI for meeting attendees and speakers.

Is it just a matter of terminology, with the term “DEI” becoming toxic over time but the meaning behind the term still deemed valuable? Or does the whole concept of DEI need to evolve to something else?

Sheila Alexander-Reid, executive director of PHL Diversity with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau

Sheila Alexander-Reid, executive director of PHL Diversity with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said, “As an English major, I can tell you that words matter, and the intention behind them matters even more. The backlash is not so much about the words as what those words represent. If you have a problem with treating people fairly, the problem is not the words but in how you are looking at humanity.”

Part of the problem with the term DEI, she says, is that people have come to associate it with just having to do with race. “They don’t think of pregnant mothers, people with disabilities, people of different socioeconomic statuses and veterans, as being part of the DEI discussion. That’s why she is, albeit reluctantly, moving away from the term DEI and toward using the term “social inclusion” instead. “It opens a wider umbrella, so it’s harder for people to say this is bad.”

She adds, “Diversity is a number. Equity is a practice, accessibility is a right, and belonging is a feeling. Each of these pieces are important, and they all are included in the social inclusion terminology. I’m OK with that, as long as we make sure we are still centering our efforts on people who have historically been left out.”

Destinations International (DI) is on board with a broadening of the DEI concept to social inclusion. So much so that DI is holding a Social Inclusion Summit later this month in Spokane, Wash., to help destinations create “intentional inclusion initiatives that that champion economic growth and community impact.” The summit, DI’s second on the topic, will include discussion on DEI fatigue, “what about me”-ism, and the challenges of understanding all of the ways identity impacts tourism — and meeting and convention attendance —  and making all people feel safe, seen and welcome, regardless of the local political climate.