Purpose This article critically analyses and critiques the operationalisation of the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States of America and beyond. It specifically examines the attempt to silence DEI scholarship and practice, assessing the broader implications for social justice and global progress towards equity. The article also positions these attacks as an existential threat to DEI scholarship, scholars and practitioners, with the potential to reverse progress made since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The article serves as a call to action, urging the continued and even increased use of DEI language and the rigorous promulgation of its underlying values. Design/methodology/approach This viewpoint article offers a range of perspectives on the impact of the anti-DEI agenda of the Trump administration from DEI scholars who participated as panellists at a Divisions and Interest Groups Highlight session titled “Navigating the DEI Research Landscape: Critical Insights and Future Directions” at the 2025 Academy of Management Conference – Copenhagen. This critical approach draws from multiple sources to enrich and provide a more nuanced understanding of the impact of the Trump administration's ongoing implementation of its anti-DEI policies. Findings The Trump administration's ongoing operationalisation of its anti-DEI agenda is having a strong and wide-ranging effect on DEI efforts worldwide. It is fostering a climate of fear, actively contributing to the widening of existing inequalities, causing the silencing of DEI scholarship and the migration of DEI scholars and practitioners to more enlightened countries outside of the United States. The practices of the Trump administration are having a wide-ranging effect, emboldening anti-DEI groups in many countries outside of the United States of America as well. This paper highlights the deliberate attack on DEI as an existential threat to the progress of humanity that undermines the principles embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also emphasises the undermining of the successes achieved by the American Civil Rights Movement, feminist movements across the globe and movements everywhere dedicated to furthering equity for diverse and underrepresented people. Research limitations/implications The article draws from primary and secondary sources (news articles, policy documents, existing research and discussions held with DEI scholars at a for-purpose Divisions and Interest Groups Highlight session titled “Navigating the DEI Research Landscape: Critical Insights and Future Directions” at the 2025 Academy of Management Conference – Copenhagen). The authors' scholarship on DEI and the Trump administration's operationalisation of anti-DEI policies might influence their perspectives and conclusions. While the paper critiques the enactment of the Trump administration's anti-DEI agenda, it may benefit from engagement with counterarguments or alternative perspectives to offer a more balanced perspective. Practical implications The authors each offer a call to action for researchers and global citizens alike to resist attempts to silence the language of DEI and its underpinning values. This pragmatic approach moves beyond simple criticism and offers concrete steps for future action towards giving voice to the cause of DEI and opposition to the forces currently attacking its values. They suggest that the current anti-DEI practices of the Trump administration represent an existential threat to the DEI field that must be resisted to ensure long-term progress towards equity and inclusion and the betterment of humanity. Social implications The Trump administration's anti-DEI policies and practices have global implications, influencing attitudes and responses in the United States as well as in other countries. The Trump administration's operationalisation of anti-DEI policy continues to impact international conversations around fairness and equity. Originality/value The article provides a global call to resist attempts by the Trump administration to silence DEI language and values. This account will be a crucial resource for future researchers studying this period and its impact. This critical analysis also provides valuable insights for both scholars and activists working to advance DEI.
Fitzsimmons et al. (Fri,) studied this question.