Shockwaves from the Trump administration's campaign against pro-diversity policies and its harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric were felt throughout the South By Southwest festival, the sprawling arts and tech event long known for championing progressive values.
Since taking office, Donald Trump's hard-right White House has delivered a series of executive orders demanding that agencies across the federal government remove all references to policies meant to facilitate the hiring of women, people of color, or those with disabilities.
The campaign, which has seen the Pentagon's Black joint chief of staff asked to leave office, has also been mirrored by some of the country's biggest companies including certain tech giants, who are dismantling departments dedicated to promoting workplace diversity.
These harsh anti-progressive policies cast a shadow over this year's SXSW, the 37-year-old festival that transforms downtown Austin, Texas, with offerings of music, cinema, and technology talks.
The event typically attracts hundreds of thousands of forward-thinking creative professionals from around the world.
"It feels like we're being crushed and that any good, human, normal business policies are just being thrown out the window. I find it terrifying. We're living in a dystopia," said Kerrie Finch, a European based communications consultant that works with US companies.
"Dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion harms everyone because diversity means all people," US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley told an audience.
- 'It means women' -
"It means women. It means disabled people. It means people in rural communities. It means veterans. It means people of color," she added.
AFP
US Representative Ayanna Pressley has been one of Washington's most vocal critics of rolling back diversity policies
In rented bars and hotel meeting rooms surrounding the Austin convention center, countries like France, Germany, Australia, and Brazil promote their startups and industries.
Given the America First mindset in the White House, exhibitors say they sensed an impact.
"From Europe...we already see it happening," said Yeni Joseph, who leads the Netherlands taskforce for diversity and inclusion.
"We have talents here that come knocking on our doors, or companies who want to expand and don't know what it's going to look like here," she added.
Trump's hard line on illegal migration is deterring professionals who might consider moving to the United States, according to Dallas-based immigration attorney Dobrina Ustun.
Speaking from the SXSW expo center where she offered services to foreign attendees interested in opportunities in the United States, she explained: "If you're somebody sitting in Japan or Germany contemplating moving to the US and then you turn on the TV and hear all this anti-immigrant rhetoric, you might change your mind, at least for the time being."
- 'Building bridges' -
Europe-based Arne Mosselman of Ainigma, an AI advisory firm, said that some US multinationals are closing down diversity projects even outside the United States.
This is particularly unfortunate since AI technology is proving effective at supporting foreign workers in companies, as generative AI can help improve their performance.
"Whether you want to get refugees in your company, or a designer from the Middle East - somebody who speaks a language as a second language can become client-facing thanks to generative AI," he said.
Angela V Davis of the 2638 Management Group said the rollback on diversity programs should not come as a surprise.
"Companies will make promises and say, 'Okay, we will hit our target by 2020,' but then they keep moving the finish line. There's no accountability," she said.
These are "interesting times in the US," said SXSW President Hugh Forrest, speaking to a keynote audience. The success of the festival "shows what we believe in: cooperation over competition, building bridges versus burning them down."
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