Can DEI survive the era of Backlash? The impact of Anti-DEI Backlash on Organisations and DEI practitioners

Tuesday, 30th of June 2026 | 1 PM UTC | 9 AM EST | 3 PM CET | 4 PM EAT | 6:30 PM IST | 9 PM CST

This gender cafe, organised by the SGP in collaboration with CCINDLE (Co-Creating Inclusive Intersectional Democratic Spaces Across Europe), brings together Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practitioners, scholars, and proponents from around the world to discuss the growing global backlash against DEI initiatives and to situate this phenomenon within broader political, organizational, and identity-based contexts. Rather than treating resistance to DEI as isolated incidents of opposition, we will discuss backlash to DEI as a multi-level process shaped by shifting power relations, ideological contestation, and institutional change. With an initial short panel discussion on this backlash and thoughts on countering it, participants will then have space to discuss their own experiences, observations, and tactics to contribute to this important conversation.

Together we hope to explore conversation threads such as relationships between democratic backsliding and delegitimization of diversity; more about the strategies behind the current backlash; and what we can learn from successes in countering this backlash. 

Speaker information and other details of the event are available on our website page.

We're looking forward to have an engaging session with all of you!