This is how the 2024 election results could impact DEI efforts

This November, Americans will cast their votes to either re-elect incumbent President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump, and employees and employers alike are wondering how the outcome might impact their workplace experience. 

Sixty-one percent of U.S. employees say they have already discussed politics at work with colleagues sometime in the past 12 months, according to a recent online survey conducted by Glassdoor, with 8% of those conversations revolving around the upcoming presidential election. In addition, two thirds of employees said they feel supported if their company takes a stance on political issues, meaning that employers should already be thinking about how they plan to navigate the election season. 

"Given the increasing polarization of the political parties, presidential elections almost always impact U.S. workers," says political strategist and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultant Christie Lindor. "We've seen that in the last two election cycles, and I think this one will be no different. If anything, this one could be even more polarized because of the number of competing issues that are currently on the table right now." 

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The future of workplace DEI efforts, for example, could hinge heavily on electoral outcomes. In June of 2023, the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in college admissions programs, the repercussions of which have gone beyond academia and the corporate world, too. Since then, business leaders like Elon Musk have publicly denounced diversity initiatives and many major Wall Street institutions have started to overhaul their DEI programs following criticism from political leaders. 

The trend against corporate DEI began under President Biden, Lindor says, which could potentially call into question whether he's equipped to address it if given another term. 

"If the current administration is extended another four years, it's likely that they'll continue to move forward with a lot of the existing policies around social justice, climate change and labor relations," she says. "But that doesn't necessarily stop the attacks on diversity that organizations are currently facing."  

However, diversity efforts could very well remain under fire should President Trump win, according to Lindor. Historically, President Trump has been more keen on pushing corporate agendas and supporting the prioritization of things like earnings and revenue over culture, inclusion and shared values. 

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"Anything that really seeks to help create a sense of equilibrium for marginalized communities is going to continue to be attacked as a result," she says. "In some cases, efforts will even disappear entirely." 

More potential areas of impact include changes to healthcare and taxes that could affect the job market, hiring decisions, employee benefits, workplace culture, productivity and even employee morale, according to Lindor, who says she would not advise employers to wait until November to communicate with their employees on the topic. 

"This is not the time to deploy a "wait and see" approach," she says. "This is an opportunity to begin to become really grounded in the priorities of your organization, recommit to the shared values of your company and be transparent about the potentially political impact, as well as how the organization plans to continue to support their employees."