'Disheartening': Trump's culture war leaves firms with 'DEI' initials caught in crossfire

Before diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, became the subject of scorn for the Trump administration, various companies used the acronym. According to a Wall Street Journal report, companies that have nothing to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion are now struggling with their name.

“You’re reading these headlines: ‘DEI is wrong,’ ‘Terrified of the aftermath of DEI,’” David Markley told the Journal. “It’s disheartening when somebody’s, like, bashing your baby.”

Markley sells heat and sound-control equipment primarily to the hot-rod racing industry in Ohio. It’s called Design Engineering Inc.

Markley says it's not the first time his car parts manufacturing company has been mistaken for something else. He used to field phone calls from people asking for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the former race team.

“We finally got over that hump,” said Markley. “Then the new DEI came. It’s just like, oh, God, not again.”

Another company that spoke to the Journal is restaurant-supply company DEI Equipment, owned by Ricardo Gomez.

“I’m a minority that owns a business—it’s not that I’m against it,” Gomez said. “We’re very, very careful about doing anything that will offend anybody from either side.”

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His company first started feeling the heat after an online review accused them of “diversity mandates of hurting the U.S. military industrial complex,” the Journal wrote. It took one month and “three unanswered emails later, the reviewer’s post quietly disappeared from the site.”

Gomez named his company more than 20 years ago and has no regrets. He claims he got the idea from the Latin word “dei,” which can mean divine.

According to the Journal, “backlash” over DEI “accelerated after the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to overturn affirmative action. The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to quash the use of race in hiring and other decisions.”

These are not the only companies in recent years that have faced backlash over an unfortunate name. Corona beer’s parent company, Constellation Brands, had to release a statement in February 2020 to reassure customers they were not connected to the virus.

Similarly, Elon University in North Carolina students have posted on social media that they avoid wearing school gear that has just “Elon” emblazoned on it. This is because they are afraid that others will mistake them for fans of Elon Musk.