This post was aided by AI. Data indicate that Fortune 500 mentions of “DEI” have fallen by 98% according to Gravity Research. Sad. But – and this is the nuance – the substance often isn’t disappearing, just the label. Companies are replacing words like “equity” with “belonging” or “inclusion”, and 64% are “redefining or rebranding” their DEI functions rather than eliminating them. I’ve been suggesting those words for over a year. One exec put it bluntly to researchers: terminology matters, but the work is more important. They’re trying to protect the work without having to defend it publicly.
So, the market hasn’t vanished. It’s gone underground and changed its vocabulary. That’s actually good news for speakers who can adapt.
Strategic moves for DEI speakers
- Reposition around the business outcome, not the ideology. The buyers who are still spending want talent development, retention, innovation, and leadership capability. Not just a values statement. PR teams are being told to frame diversity efforts as part of talent development, innovation, or leadership strategy, a business advantage, not just a social good. That’s a positioning statement rewrite, not a content rewrite. A speaker whose actual material is about building inclusive teams that perform better can lead with performance and let inclusion be the mechanism rather than the headline.
- Follow the title change, because it signals who’s still buying. DEI-specific job titles have declined, but those functions are being absorbed into roles like “Belonging & Culture Manager” or “Workforce Strategy Lead.” That’s your new buyer persona.
- Know your meeting professional’s risk tolerance before you pitch, not after. Meeting professionals are playing both sides right now. 80% of companies say they’re monitoring anti-DEI legal risk but not taking immediate action, which means many are frozen rather than opposed. My 3 M qualifying system still applies here: is there Money, is there a real Meeting need, and is the Momentum and Market (this specific buyer, this specific event) actually a fit right now?
- Have two versions of the same talk read. Not two different messages, two different vocabularies. Same core content, same frameworks, same stories. One version uses “equity,” “DEI,” “diversity” explicitly for buyers who still want that language (associations, mission-driven orgs, some government-adjacent spaces). The other uses “belonging,” “culture,” “talent strategy,” “high-performing teams” for corporate buyers who need plausible deniability on the label. (I can’t believe I feel I have to suggest this.) This isn’t watering down the message – it’s translating it for the room, which any good speaker already does.
- Don’t ignore the fact that consumers are watching, too. This cuts both ways. 76% of employees say they’re more likely to stay long-term at companies that support inclusion programs, and Target saw measurable declines in foot traffic and earnings after stepping back from public support. So there’s still a retention/engagement pitch that works even with risk-averse buyers: this isn’t about optics, it’s about keeping your people.
- Build the “scrutiny-proof” angle into your one-sheet. HR Dive reports the top HR priority for 2026 is making talent programs “scrutiny-proof” – durable both legally and politically. If you can position your content as helping leaders build inclusion practices that hold up under legal and political pressure (rather than just “be more inclusive”), that’s a genuinely differentiated angle almost nobody else is using yet. And, that’s a HUGE outcome.
Copyright 2026, Lois Creamer. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money, and monetize their message.
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