Callum Borchers

A new generation is tweaking the power tie by making it rebellious or feminine.

Amazon will require employees to report to offices five days a week beginning Jan. 2. Outright firings for RTO noncompliance appear to be rare, or at least handled quietly, but the specter is real. Publicis Media in October terminated several dozen employees who flouted in-office requirements, according to multiple reports.

For those who spent years, even decades, with silk knots around their necks, the business-casual movement has been a breath of fresh air, literally.

DEI is an important response to that history and has accomplished much, despite sometimes uneven execution, says Olivia Christian, who juggles dual careers as a sportscaster and consultant to employee-resource groups for women and people of color at Google, Visa Amazon and other firms. It traces the ebb and flow of corporate diversity efforts, from attempts to comply with President John F. Kennedy’s “affirmative action” executive order in the 1960s to recasting diversity as a management strategy in the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan threatened to end affirmative action. Little wonder the backlash against DEI, led by activist Robby Starbuck, has been so forceful, he says.

The seeds of a backlash were sown when companies turned diversity into a corporate fad.

Backlash started when companies turned diversity into a corporate fad

Business leaders anticipate hiring more after last year's uncertainties around politics, AI and the economy.

Business leaders anticipate hiring more after last year’s uncertainties around politics, AI and the economy.

Corporate America's DEI retreat removes a barrier or maybe an excuse for some workers