Beyond the Backlash
INSIGHTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF INCLUSION, RECRUITMENT, RESEARCH, AND GEN Z
If you’re tired of being told what you can’t do with inclusion, Beyond the Backlash is your playbook. Every issue brings sharp, practical strategies that help you stay informed, stay ready, and stay ahead.
VOLUME 1: Is The Backlash Against DEI a Blessing in Disguise?
But First, Who is GVC?
GVC is an African American-owned inclusion business solutions firm with over two decades of proven experience in providing tailored support to organizations across the United States. We ensure your efforts are inclusive, strategic, and aligned with business goals.
GVC specializes in five core offerings: Inclusion Business Strategy, Inclusion Immersion Activities, Recruiting Solutions, Workforce Research Solutions, and Inclusion Policy Reviews.
Visit our website to learn more!
Inclusion. It's Worth It.
We are excited to announce the launch of our new campaign, “Inclusion. It’s Worth It.” This powerful initiative highlights the value of building truly inclusive workplaces and communities, and we invite you to watch our 60-second video to see the message come to life. But this is just the beginning. Stay tuned as GVC expands the campaign’s reach, taking it to TV and radio to further spark conversations and inspire action across industries.
In the Community
DEI advisor Greg Almieda joined the Charles River Regional Chamber to discuss how creating a strategic plan and conducting a PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) analysis may help us prepare for unexpected changes.
By understanding these approaches, we can be better at navigating the evolving DEI landscape and ensuring we’re ready to respond to emerging challenges, now and in the future.
Contact Greg today
to learn more.
A Blessing in Disguise? Why Those Who Support DEI Should Embrace the Backlash
By Greg Almieda, Founder & CEO Global View Communications
Let’s take a breath and say it plainly, the backlash against DEI is real. Yes, it’s frustrating, sometimes demoralizing, and often unfair. But let’s be honest with ourselves, this wave of pushback could be exactly what our field needs. And we shouldn’t miss this opportunity.
Is that a controversial take? Absolutely! But give it some thought. If the only way DEI could survive was under comfortable conditions devoid of external challenge, then it was never meant to last. Pressure tests reveal the strength of any foundation, and this moment shows us where we truly stand.
After 2020, DEI gained unprecedented momentum that was in some ways premature. Investments skyrocketed, DEI roles were created overnight at the highest levels of organizations, and consultants found themselves booked out months in advance. But speed can mask structural gaps. Too many of these newly minted efforts were superficial or performative. Success was often assumed without hard evidence to back it up. People felt good but showed little. And now the work is facing a reckoning.
But should we panic? No. Now’s the time for discipline.
As DEI consultants, we have a responsibility to reflect upon not just the systems we’re working to change, but the strategies we’ve been using to change them. That’s the core of real leadership. And real leadership doesn’t avoid scrutiny. It embraces it.
We ultimately must deal with the world as it is, not as we’d like it to be. The current legal, political, and cultural environments demand more from us. It wants more clarity, more strategy and more proof. As our clients are navigating risk and uncertainty, they don’t need us to just champion values and morals, they need us to create measurable results. This is where rigor matters. This is where resilience wins the day.
At Global View Communications, we’re not holding our breath for the climate to shift. We’re adapting. For us, DEI isn’t just about social aspiration. We’re helping our partners build DEI strategies that are durable, defensible, and deeply tied to organizational success. The pushback doesn’t mean the work is over. It just means the next chapter has begun. One where equity is embedded, not performative. One where consultants aren’t just moralizing academics but are instead seasoned problem-solvers.
So no, I’m not discouraged. I’m ready to meet this moment with everything I’ve got.
To my fellow DEI consultants: sharpen your practice. Own what didn’t work. Stand on what did. And build what’s needed now. Because if this work was ever going to matter, it had to do more than respond to a moment. It had to reshape the future.
And that future starts with how we respond now.