Should You Remove DEI Work from Your Resume?

Should I remove my diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) accomplishments from my resume? This is a question that more and more clients have been asking over the past few months. In spite of a preponderance of data that proves that companies that promote diversity, in all its forms, perform better in multiple categories, including increased innovation, employee engagement, and revenue and profitability, many companies are shuttering their DEI organizations and ceasing programs out of fear of liability and threats aimed at DEI efforts across the public sector and private companies.

In today’s anti-DEI world, is it possible that work related to DEI initiatives is a red flag to potential employers? The short answer is that it might be. However, aside from the moral imperative to stand behind this important work, it’s just never a good idea to omit accomplishments on your résumé. If your job title included DEI, changing it or leaving it off of your résumé is a deceit that is easy for a future employer to discover. If you have significant accomplishments from DEI work, you should leave those on, especially if you can talk in specific terms about how they helped your company get better results in its work. 

If this is work that’s important to you, do you really want to work for a company that wouldn’t hire you because you worked in DEI? However, let us not be naïve about the current job market and the need to secure employment. Ideally, we could all feel connected to our company’s mission, but in an environment where businesses are afraid of legal retaliation, that can be difficult.

DEI is about creating equitable opportunities, fostering inclusive environments, and honoring the inherent worth of every individual. Misconceptions and targeted backlash seek to undermine these efforts, but this is a right and freedom we all deserve. The need for more inclusive workplaces for all is undeniable — 91% of workers have experienced discrimination related to race, gender, disability, age, or body size, and 94% of workers care about feeling a sense of belonging at work. But current rhetoric and backlash has sunk support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to a low of only 52% of American workers.

Leaders invested in building healthier workplaces and societies for everyone have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine this work--not only to adapt to a new sociopolitical climate but to let go of practices that have outlived their usefulness and refocus our efforts on what works. If DEI has been a significant part of your career, do you really want to downplay it just to conform to the status quo? How important is the work to you? Do you really want to work for an organization that, at best, ignores DEI in the workplace or, at worst, undermines it? 

This is a situation where you need to follow your instincts and remember that there is no right way to do the wrong thing. Which side do you want to be on?