By Dr. Frances “Toni” Draper
CEO and Publisher AFRO News
The pushback against diversity, equity and inclusion is not new.
For years, these efforts have been questioned, criticized and quietly rolled back. But what we are witnessing now is different. What was once rhetoric is now enforcement.
In a federal lawsuit filed this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast – a regional bottler – over a women’s networking retreat.
The case stems from a complaint filed by a male employee and centers on a 2024 women-focused professional development event for which attendees were paid and excused from work. The EEOC now argues that excluding men from that opportunity constituted unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
That alone would be notable. But what makes this moment more striking is the posture of the agency itself.
Under the leadership of Andrea Lucas, recently elevated to EEOC Chair, the agency has taken a more aggressive stance publicly encouraging men—especially White men—to come forward with claims tied to diversity initiatives.
That shift is more than unusual. It is revealing. And it is disturbing.
Because the question is no longer simply how discrimination is being addressed —but how it is being redefined, and for whom.
Credit: Unsplash / Tingey Injury Law Firm
Placed alongside the most recent presidential executive order rescinding prior federal diversity, equity and inclusion directives and instructing federal agencies and contractors to eliminate DEI-related programs, preferences, and considerations in hiring, contracting, and operations, the pattern becomes unmistakable. Enforcement and policy are now moving in the same direction.
On one hand, the federal government has removed the expectation that institutions pursue equity. On the other hand, it is signaling that even voluntary efforts to support underrepresented people may now carry legal risk.
Together, the message is clear. Do not prioritize diversity. Do not pursue equity. Do not create inclusion.
And, if you do, you may be challenged.
This is not about one retreat. This is about dismantling the infrastructure of access. And the consequences are already visible.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, more than 113,000 Black women lost jobs in 2025 alone, with over 250,000 losses concentrated in just the first eight months. Black women, only 14 percent of the female workforce, accounted for more than half of all women’s job losses. And, in 2026, there are no signs of recovery.
Data from the National Women’s Law Center shows Black women’s unemployment continuing to rise, now exceeding 7 percent. This is what researchers call an economic crisis.
So, while it looks like a court will decide whether or not a particular networking event is “fair”, Black women are already experiencing the consequences of a broader rollback.
Jobs lost. Opportunities erased. Progress reversed. Quietly and decisively.
And yet, Black women are not standing still. National organizations like Win With Black women, a collective of leaders across business, media and policy, have mobilized thousands, raised significant resources, and helped shape leadership in the highest levels of this country.
And still, at the very moment that collective power is growing, the pathways that made that progress possible are being narrowed
That is not accidental. That is reaction. And let us be honest about what this moment represents. This is not progress. It is regression.
Women, Black Americans and other historically marginalized communities are once again being forced to defend ground that was already won; forced to access opportunity and the right to be supported within systems that were never designed for them.
The language has changed, but the pattern has not.
When efforts to expand opportunity are dismantled, and the burden shifts back onto those who were historically excluded to justify their presence once again, we are not witnessing neutrality. We are witnessing a system of control – one that quietly determines who advances and who must continue to fight for what should already be theirs.
History does not always repeat itself in form, but it does repeat itself in function. And what we are witnessing is not subtle. It is a narrowing of access; a redefinition of fairness; a quiet rewriting of who belongs and who must continue to prove that they do. We have seen this before: Not in the same language, not in the same form, but in the same outcome. And the danger is not just in what is being done. It is how quietly it is being accepted.
So, we cannot afford to be silent. Not now. Not here. Not on this.
We must name it, we must challenge it, and we must stand—clearly, collectively and
unapologetically—for the access, equity, and opportunity that are already ours.