[Text by Guancha Observer, Zhang Jingjuan] On the first day of his return to the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump picked up the "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" (DEI) stick again, prompting major American enterprises to "reform to survive." Even some large European companies have received "instructions" from the U.S. federal government.

According to a report by The Guardian on July 7, the authoritative British employment law institution, the Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), warned that if British companies follow the example of American companies and abandon efforts to improve diversity and inclusion, they will face greater legal litigation risks.

ELA said that if Britain cancels DEI policies, it may expose itself to "the adverse consequences of discrimination."

In an open letter to companies, ELA President Caspar Glyn KC wrote that defending against discriminatory actions against employees is already difficult; without DEI policies, companies will "have no hope" of winning such lawsuits.

Glyn stated that without DEI policies, employers are almost unlikely to prove that they have taken "all reasonable measures" to prevent behaviors required by law, such as sexual harassment. The report said that the new employment rights bill to be approved by the British Parliament will strengthen these requirements.

The DEI project can be traced back to an executive order signed by then U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, which required the federal government to "take affirmative action to ensure fair treatment during employment and prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." Trump strongly opposed this policy during his first term, believing that DEI projects were counterproductive and discriminatory against white citizens.

This year, on his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order ending DEI projects within the federal government. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management stated that all DEI projects would be canceled, and the corresponding offices, official websites, and social media accounts would be shut down and deactivated.

Seeing this situation, major American enterprises including Disney, tech giants Meta, Google, and Amazon, as well as McDonald's, have adjusted their internal policies accordingly.

The Guardian reported that there is growing concern that British companies may also follow suit. The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), regulators of the Bank of England, said they would not introduce new diversity and inclusion rules for financial companies. Instead, they support "voluntary industry initiatives" aimed at increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the financial sector.

However, Glyn warned companies, "If you operate in the UK but cancel your DEI policies for employees here due to the recent attitude of the U.S. government toward DEI policies, your company will be more likely to face discrimination claims."

The report pointed out that the difference between British law and American law lies in the fact that British law requires equality but does not allow race or other protected characteristics (such as gender or religion) to be used as criteria to favor specific individuals in hiring or promotion. However, if candidates are equally qualified, these factors can be used as decisive factors.

In the UK, it is illegal to hire someone solely because they are female. However, if a company has insufficient female employees, it can take measures to publicize job vacancies to this group or provide additional support for their applications.

This article is an exclusive contribution by Guancha Observer and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490969721169297960/

Disclaimer: This article represents the views of the author alone. Please use the [thumbs up/thumbs down] buttons below to express your opinions.