The issue of equal opportunity for women is once again receding—from corporate boardrooms to public institutions. As the White House retreats from inclusive policies and corporate boards quietly deprioritize diversity, the consequences are already being felt. A recent move by the Trump administration to revoke federal protections for emergency abortions in hospitals—a step critics say endangers women’s health—has only deepened the sense of a broader reversal. In the business world, this shift is marked not by bold declarations but by silence: DEI commitments are vanishing, selection criteria are narrowing, and the very possibility of considering "nontraditional" candidates is fading. The first to feel the impact are those in leadership roles whose presence once symbolized change—women.
It’s a difficult time for women in leadership—and for anyone who doesn’t fit the traditional mold of the "ideal" executive. The once-prominent agenda of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), which only recently seemed to reshape corporate America, is rapidly losing traction. A political shift in the White House has accelerated that decline, turning companies from cautious reformers into overt conservatives. Those most affected are women, minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals—the very groups firms had previously made efforts to bring into leadership.
For several years, executive search firms received a clear mandate from clients: when hiring for senior roles—be it a CEO or board member—the candidate pool must be diverse. While such efforts didn’t always lead to dramatic change, they did help modestly increase the presence of women and minorities at the top. That trend has now reversed.
According to Lindsay Trout, a partner and executive search consultant at Egon Zehnder, one of the world’s leading firms in the field, most corporate clients are reverting to narrow, rigid criteria. When boards outline the profile of a future CEO, it often sounds like this: "A current CEO of a public tech company of a certain scale." Requirements like that, Trout explains, virtually rule out women. "It’s like trying to hire an NGO director but limiting the search to former U.S. presidents or secretaries of state," she says. In the past, such briefs often included a caveat to consider nontraditional candidates with strong potential. Today, those caveats are disappearing.
Those trying to navigate the new corporate landscape often resort to self-censorship. One senior executive in the media industry, currently job hunting, said he removed pronouns from his résumé and downplayed his queer identity. After making those changes, he landed a contract role—though it’s impossible to say for sure whether the edits made the difference.
The shift away from DEI began even before Trump’s presidency. According to Trout, fatigue over diversity initiatives had been building gradually within corporate boards. The Trump administration merely formalized the rollback by making the dismantling of DEI programs a political priority. "Many believe they’ve already made enough progress," she says.
The data, however, tell a different story. After a noticeable increase in the number of women and minority leaders in 2020–2021, the trend has reversed. At Meta, for instance, women made up 44% of the board in 2022; today, that share has dropped to just 23%. What’s more, over the past year, not a single woman has been appointed CEO of a Fortune 500 company through external hiring—all new appointments have come through internal promotions.
The rollback, however, is not universal. According to Jennifer McCollum, CEO of the nonprofit organization Catalyst, which advocates for women in business, some companies continue to uphold diversity principles despite shareholder pressure and shifting political winds. Moreover, they recognize that dismantling DEI carries not only reputational costs but also legal and workforce risks. Talent loss, lower employee engagement, and potential lawsuits all remain part of the equation.
Today, the corporate sector is adjusting to new realities—but doing so with increasing caution. The retreat from the previous agenda does not mean the need for change has disappeared; it simply makes that change less visible and less accessible to those who don’t fit the old norm.
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