If DEI is dead, are cupcakes all that’s left this IWD?
For years, we’ve pushed back against the performative pink-washing of International Women’s Day (IWD), encouraging organisations to push past the trays of pastel-frosted tokenism and towards meaningful systemic change. But as major corporations continue to announce they’re scaling back their commitments to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)—we find ourselves asking: are cupcakes all that’s left?
‘The Great DEI Rollback’: Where did all the progress go?
Make no mistake: across the globe, the winds of change have shifted against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) so severely that, in one fell Trumpian swoop, we are seeing the subtle (and not-so-subtle) dismantling of decades of hard-fought progress.
In the US, DEI roles are being slashed, budgets gutted, and corporate commitments quietly disappearing from websites and annual reports. From Disney to Deloitte, companies that were once seen as global leaders in ‘inclusive business’, are telling staff to remove gender pronouns from email signatures and either scaling back or outright abandoning their DEI programs.
In Australia, while we haven’t (yet) seen the same sweeping policy attacks, many are nervous and the tension is more and more palpable each day. The political climate is shifting, and while the people we partner with are still committed to doing the work, there’s growing unease about what comes next.
What we’re noticing in Australian workplaces
Amongst leaders and equity advocates, we are seeing:
🔸 Practitioners and Equity Leads feeling more isolated and burnt out than ever. Because when progress stalls or goes into reverse, those who are still fighting the good fight become more exposed and even less resourced.
🔸 The ‘antis’ feeling newly emboldened to push back—challenging evidence, dismissing gender equity as a ‘woke agenda’, and reframing it as an attack on men.
🔸 Public sector spaces continuing to be strongholds for intersectional gender equality, with most people in the room supporting progress—though we cannot assume that will hold.
🔸 Leaders are still showing up for training and conversations—but they are also asking harder questions. What are the risks? Will budgets be cut? Will gender equality legislation be repealed?
These concerns are valid. But they are also a test. The question is, are we up to it?
The risk of retreating
When the tide turns against progress, it is tempting to go quiet. To self-censor. To “meet people where they’re at” in ways that gradually dilute the urgency of the work.
We are already seeing it happen.
There is a growing pressure to soften the language of gender equality, to frame it in ways that are more palatable to those who resist it. Even reducing what is exceptionally nuanced and complex work to a three-letter acronym obscures its depth, purpose, and impact—stripping it of the real-world stakes it represents.
This work is not a ‘nice to have’ or an abstract exercise in political wokeness. It’s not a buzzword or a corporate battleground. It is the very scaffolding of modern workplaces; the legal, cultural and policy framework that ensures women don’t have to choose between safety and a paycheck, that racial bias doesn’t dictate who gets promoted, that men are free to parent without penalty.
Nevertheless, she persisted
Let’s be clear: the backlash isn’t really about DEI at all. It’s about power. About who holds it, who shares it, and who is being asked to let some of it go. And that is why we cannot afford to treat this moment as just another pendulum swing in corporate culture.
If we allow DEI to be framed as a ‘failed experiment’, an unnecessary expense, or a trend that has outlived its usefulness, we set the stage for something far worse: a future where inequality isn’t just tolerated—it’s endorsed. So yes, the acronym might be under attack. But the work? It continues.
If we step back now, we don’t just stall progress—we lose touch with our humanity. Fairer hiring, better workplace cultures, and inclusive policies don’t just serve a select few—they improve conditions for everyone. We also spend a third of our lives at work. Wouldn’t we want them to reflect the world we actually live in—not a relic of the past, frozen in time?
Should we just take our cupcakes and run?
The backlash is real, but so is the groundswell of people who still care. The quiet dismantling of DEI in some organisations is being met with fierce resistance from others, with companies like Apple, McKinsey and Costco publicly reaffirming their commitments.
In Australia, we need to hold the line while finding smarter, sharper ways to move forward, especially in the lead up to the Federal election. If companies claim they are “moving away from DEI,” let’s challenge them to say it out loud:
🔸 “We don’t support diversity; we want everyone to look and think the same way.”
🔸 “We don’t believe in equity; we want to treat some people better than others.”
🔸 “We don’t want to be inclusive; we’d rather exclude people and prop up the status quo.”
And if they do, they should also be prepared to explain why they are actively rejecting what is now embedded in Australian law (Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012).
In Victoria, the Gender Equality Act 2020 mandates progress, not preference. Workplace gender reporting is not optional. Gender Impact Assessments are not a feel-good exercise. They are legal requirements—because gender equality is a recognised economic and social necessity.
How to fight back against anti-DEI sentiment
The moment we accept that inclusion is optional, we accept a world where inequality is inevitable. And that’s no kind of world we want to live in. Here are a few ways that we, as practitioners and advocates, can continue to ‘do the work’ even in the face of resistance.
🔸 Reframe the narrative.
We cannot let anti-DEI rhetoric go unchecked, in fact we would do well to ditch the acronym altogether in public. But if a company is hell bent on winding back progress, we can always show them the data: companies with diverse leadership outperform those without it. So if inclusion is off the table, then so too is innovation.
🔸 Expand the conversation.
There is growing demand to better articulate the benefits of gender equality for men—longer lives, better mental health, stronger relationships, increased flexibility, less harmful stereotypes. These connections matter.
It can feel like pandering, and yet more unheralded labour. But if we want this work to continue (and grow), which we do, we need to make sure the case for ‘what, why and how’ is understood beyond those who already believe in it. And for some of us, that means rolling up our sleeves even more.
🔸 Strengthen internal support.
Increasingly the cost of pushing for change continues to be placed on the people who have always carried the load—women, people of colour, LGBTIQA+ communities, and those working in equity roles. We need to take care of the people still doing this work. If practitioners and advocates burn out, the resistance wins. That means resourcing gender equity teams properly, backing internal changemakers, and actively countering the isolation many of them are feeling.
🔸 Take up space.
If companies want to retreat into silence, we should make noise. If businesses won’t celebrate cultural diversity, employees can. If organisations scale back their commitments, consumers and investors have every right to ask why. Silence is complicity—so get noisy, in all the places that matter.
🔸 Lean on the Legislation.
This work may be framed as a ‘choice’ in some countries, but right now in Australia, gender equality is not just a value or an ethic—it’s a legal obligation. The law has already set the baseline (and yes we know that laws can change). Let it be known that companies that deprioritise inclusion are making themselves vulnerable—legally, reputationally, and financially. And it’s easier than ever to keep receipts.
Eat the cupcakes, then let’s get to work.
This International Women’s Day, the symbolism of the cupcake feels different. If they really are all that’s left, we’ll eat them. But not as a consolation prize—as fuel for the next round of this fight.
Then, we double down. Because gender equality has never been about a single day of celebration or a neat corporate initiative. It has always been about shared power, progress, and persistence.
And we are not there yet.
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