“When there’s a feeling, there’s a bottom line.”

While it’s easy to blame DEI budget cuts on politics, Ayeh argues they’re more a casualty of economic whiplash.

Between 2020 and 2025, wild swings—from pandemic stimulus to inflation to investor pressure—reshaped what companies can fund and what they expect in return. Many DEI programs weren’t built to weather that volatility.

But those same shifts have opened up new opportunities for diversity strategies that align with today’s tighter budgets, workforce changes, and bottom-line pressures.

🎙️ In this #ItsEconomic edition of Volala: Volatility is the Life of Our Party, Ayeh and Jenni get candid about their own journeys navigating DEI in corporate and policy spaces. We also share our 7-question framework for building affordable, high-impact diversity strategies—ones that go beyond performative moves and actually boost resilience, revenue, and reach.

📊 Consider this: companies with diverse leadership are 36% more likely to outperform financially. Cities like San Antonio and Wilson, NC, have grown tax bases and attracted investment by embedding equity into infrastructure and broadband.

DEI isn’t dead. It’s just evolving. Let’s discuss. Drop us a line at [email protected], and we’ll cover it in our next listener episode.

#economy #dei #macroeconomy #diversityequityinclusion #policy #government