How Corporations Are Using DEI as a Smokescreen

In the wake of renewed calls for social justice, corporations have been eager to showcase their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). But scratch beneath the surface, and the reality is often more about optics than impact.

While companies roll out flashy DEI statements and initiatives, many of these efforts remain underfunded, unmeasured, or superficial. True diversity is not a brand strategy—it’s about shifting power, listening to marginalized voices, and changing how institutions operate at every level.

The progressive movement must call out performative DEI and push for structural change—because hiring a Black woman in leadership while union-busting and underpaying workers is not justice.