A rollback of diversity initiatives in the UK risks undoing decades of progress, the CEO of the Co-op group has warned, as US multinationals scale back commitments.
Companies including Amazon, Disney, Google and Meta have begun abandoning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies in the US as the president, Donald Trump, reverses government anti-discrimination measures.
This month in the UK, BT reportedly cut DEI initiatives from its bonus scheme for middle managers, while saying it remained “committed” to diversity principles.
The Manchester-headquartered Co-op, which employs nearly 60,000 people in the UK, is the UK’s first big retailer with a female CEO, CFO and chair.
The group’s CEO, Shirine Khoury-Haq, said DEI was true to Co-op’s founding principles and that it would continue to champion fairness having seen the benefits.
She said: “Rolling back on DEI isn’t just an internal business decision, it has real-world consequences. It deepens inequality, weakens trust, and risks undoing decades of progress.
“It is no coincidence that the drive to reverse inclusion efforts is often led by those who already hold advantage – those who benefit from an unlevel playing field. The reality is that at some point, every one of us will find ourselves in a minority – whether due to mental health, age, disability, or other circumstances.”
Amid concerns for DEI in the UK, the equalities minister, Seema Malhotra, said the government had an “absolute commitment” to tackling racial inequality and diversity and inclusion.
Meanwhile, leading industry figures defended the benefits of DEI and outlined their fears.
Khoury-Haq said she was “saddened” at some businesses scaling back diversity policies, adding: “The speed at which some are doing it makes you wonder if they ever truly meant it.”
Malhotra said a consultation would be launched later this year on the Equality (Race and Disability) bill, which would compel large employers to report on ethnicity and disability pay gaps.
“Your race should never be a barrier to your progress,” Malhotra said. “This is not just about fair access to opportunity, but ensuring how we grow our economy.”
The consultants McKinsey previously found that companies in the top quarter for gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability compared with those in the fourth quartile, and its research showed the “strong business case for both gender diversity and ethnic and cultural diversity in corporate leadership”.
Helena Morrissey, a former City fund manager and a long-time campaigner for boardroom representation for women, said: “I can’t believe that anyone in their right mind would say they want less diverse talent.”
Morrissey, who chairs the Diversity Project, a cross-company investment and savings industry initiative, said they had received calls from employees concerned by unfolding developments, and she was worried companies might think “it’s all over, there’s no point in us trying any more”.
Paul Sesay, an industry expert and the founder of the National Diversity Awards, said rather than drop DEI, some UK businesses might merge it with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, which emphasise ethical behaviour, to avoid backlash.
He said there was an understanding in UK business that there was further to go, and while “middle management” across sectors had seen “significantly more progress” since 2020, change was a “lot slower” when it came to chief officers and that when black professionals “do reach the top, they have to prove themselves so much more”.
Nearly all the UK’s 100 largest listed companies now have at least one minority ethnic director on their boards, according to the most recent progress update from the government-backed Parker review, which revealed a number still don’t.
In addition, women occupied more than two in five seats on the boards of the UK’s largest listed companies in 2023, according to the government-backed annual FTSE women leaders review, which also found there were “too few” top female executives.
Pavita Cooper, the UK chair of the 30% Club which campaigns globally for gender equality in corporate leadership, said: “If I thought we had a completely meritocratic system then I would be less worried.
“It’s about making sure everyone gets that same chance, rather than a small group of elite people getting to the top of British institutions, whether that’s the arts or business.”
Shabna Begum, the CEO of the race equality thinktank Runnymede Trust, criticised the previous Conservative government for framing diversity as “woke” red tape.
She said: “There’s strong evidence DEI policies, implemented thoughtfully, actually improve productivity, performance and financial returns. This attack on DEI is a highly ideological act of self sabotage.”
Co-op group initiatives include video interviews to prevent bias, replacing CV requirements for operational roles with assessments, an “opt-out” workplace savings scheme, and development programmes for female and black, Asian and minority ethnic representation in leadership.
Co-op’s head of social mobility, inclusion and belonging, Zahoor Ahmad, said Trump had encouraged the false idea diversity is “discriminatory, not based on merit”.
He said: “There’s a plane crash and [Trump] says DEI is to blame. The message is that we didn’t have qualified people doing that job, that the default setting, the white male, is the qualified person – and that’s fundamentally untrue.”
Khoury-Haq said: “We should not be fooled into weakening our own prospects by dismantling the progress that has been made” when “the cost of living crisis has hit millions hard, and socioeconomic disadvantage is rife”, adding: “Now, more than ever, businesses have a responsibility to stand together to ensure every child and adult has the opportunity to reach their full potential.”
