DEI Decline Signals Corporate Shift and Opens Door for New Values
Recently, communications giant Verizon announced it will end its DEI program. The move follows other prominent companies that have either downsized or dropped diversity quota hiring and education. Something has definitely changed in corporate America.
To be fair, Verizon switched its stance because a $9.6 billion merger was on the line. Other companies, however, announced that they were abandoning DEI initiatives even before the Trump administration forced the hand of companies tied to federal funding. Ironically, many of these companies, including Verizon, had established their DEI programs in response to pressure from previous administrations, something that Senator Tom Cotton described as a “dictatorship of woke capital.”
Pitched as necessary to bring equality for women and ethnic minorities, DEI pushed Critical Theory, transgender ideology, conscience restrictions, and corporate “struggle sessions” straight out of Orwell. But it’s now clear that there were few true believers in corporate America. Disney, Netflix, Starbucks, and many others were all in until the financial hit. Rather than woke champions, they were really only committed to remaining on the good side of whoever held the cultural leverage. A big upside for the rest of us is that “Pride Month” is not nearly as obnoxious as in previous years.
The whole back-and-forth should remind us how fickle corporate convictions can be, and how effective social pressure can be. We should all know that if the price is right, the very same corporate entities who shifted away from DEI could shift again. Therefore, if the current vibe shift is to last, it cannot be just anti-woke. After all, there are plenty of anti-woke crusaders today who are just as rootless as the woke, even embracing antisemitism and elements of Marxism. Sometimes, the opposite of a bad thing can still be a bad thing.
Lasting change must be built on what we collectively can be for, not just what we are against. Two years ago, one of the great thinkers of our time, Princeton law professor Robert P. George, proposed an idea for the month of June that has the potential to lead to significant change. Though he did not intend Fidelity Month to directly counter Pride Month, it is worth noting that fidelity is a virtue while pride is a vice.
As Dr. George put it,
We have an obligation … to be faithful in the ways that we need to be faithful – faithful to God, faithful to our spouses and families, faithful to our countries and communities – if we want to continue and have our children continue and our grandchildren continue to enjoy the blessings of living in this blessed land.
During the month of June, he is asking individuals to recommit to their most important relationships: to God, to spouses and children, to churches, to country.
The FidelityMonth.com website is full of helpful, free resources to get started. The logo of Fidelity Month can be downloaded and shared on social media. There are also files to produce flags and banners and postcards. There are articles for individual and group study, as well as a few Fidelity Month events to join during the month of June. One effort that could bear strong fruit is to appeal to local municipalities and state legislative bodies to formally recognize June as Fidelity Month. After all, faith and family are what built America, and that should be recognized.
Recently, Dr. George joined me for a special bonus episode about Fidelity Month on the Breakpoint podcast, which is available on all the major podcast platforms and at breakpoint.org. Learn more about Fidelity Month by visiting fidelitymonth.com.
Even if the rainbow flags are flying around you this June, remember: Fidelity is far better for you, your family, your nation, and the world than “pride.”
Photo Courtesy: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/NATALIA DE LA RUBIA
Published Date: June 2, 2025
John Stonestreet is President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, and radio host of BreakPoint, a daily national radio program providing thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.
The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of CrosswalkHeadlines.
BreakPoint is a program of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. BreakPoint commentaries offer incisive content people can't find anywhere else; content that cuts through the fog of relativism and the news cycle with truth and compassion. Founded by Chuck Colson (1931 – 2012) in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends. Today, you can get it in written and a variety of audio formats: on the web, the radio, or your favorite podcast app on the go.
