Hey, 

As a business trend, DEI is winding down…or at least transforming. This leaves us as freelancers asking a lot of questions about how it will impact us. 

(The short answer is that it depends, but in my opinion, it’s likely less of a concern than you might think.) 

That’s why this month, we’re going to walk through some thoughts on what this shift in the DEI business trend means for those of us running freelance businesses. 

“It depends”

If you followed me in Twitter days, you’ll know that I view a lot of what corporate does as performance. Most of what I saw happening under “DEI” could fall under that umbrella. 

The thing is, corporate performance usually also translates to real jobs and programs. So, when we ask “how will DEI impact freelancers?”, we fist have to determine where our freelance focus is. 

If your niche as a freelancer has been DEI programs, positions, or initiatives, this is going to continue to be a long-term change for you. That said, many corporations could still be doing the actual work of DEI, they’re just shifting the marketing. (they’re not the best example, but JP Morgan renamed their program, “DOI”…as a freelancer, we always have to keep an eye on what businesses do over what they say.)

On the other end of the spectrum, if your work has been less focused on DEI programs, you might not see any difference…that’s because employers really never got much credit for working with minority freelancers—at least not as much as they would for increasing diversity in their employed ranks. 

The main takeaway is to use your agility here as an indie worker. If you see DEI money drying up, it’s time to move to greener pastures.

All that said, the state of work has gotten a lot more opaque and it’s impossible to understand what’s going on on our own. I invite you to come join our Discord to share what you’re seeing and to learn from others in this community. See you there!

Megan (Nutmeg) 

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