AUSTRALIAN STUDY

Project Background and Rationale

Pride in Diversity has been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion in Australia for the last 15 years. In recent years, however, this work has been destabilised by a growing wave of antagonism, both locally and internationally.

This backlash first gained visibility in the United Kingdom, where Stonewall’s Diversity Champions program was subjected to sustained public criticism. These attacks were soon understood as part of a coordinated global anti-trans movement. Australia quickly became a site of targeted disruption, with Pride in Diversity facing deliberate campaigns aimed at undermining its efforts, particularly around the inclusion of trans women.

Member organisations were subjected to coordinated misinformation campaigns, public pressure to withdraw membership, and an influx of Freedom of Information requests probing expenditure on LGBTQ+ inclusion. False narratives were circulated in mainstream media, including claims that Pride in Diversity facilitated the placement of men in women’s domestic violence shelters—a clear attempt to weaponise public fear against trans inclusion.

What began as opposition to trans inclusion rapidly expanded to broader critiques of LGBTQ+ inclusion. Public rallies shifted from anti-trans to explicitly anti-LGBTQ+. The initial focus of this research project was to examine the impacts of these movements on LGBTQ+ inclusion in Australian workplaces, and to explore organisational responses.

However, within a relatively short period, the anti-LGBTQ+ movement converged with a broader “anti-woke” campaign. Supported by legislative developments in the United States, this evolved into a powerful anti-DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) movement with global implications. The dismantling of DEI initiatives in the U.S. created a climate of uncertainty, prompting some organisations to scale back or conceal their commitments, particularly in relation to LGBTQ+ inclusion. In many cases, LGBTQ+ programs were publicly cancelled, even if internal efforts persisted.

Given the interconnectedness of anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ+, and anti-DEI agendas, this project necessarily broadened its scope. The initiative—The National Conversation—seeks to investigate how these global currents are shaping diversity and inclusion practice in Australia.

Specifically, it explores:

• Whether U.S. based corporate withdrawals from DEI will have a ricochet effect in Australia, particularly among multinational companies headquartered in the U.S.;
• The extent to which anti-woke and anti-DEI movements are influencing local practice;
• Whether DEI will continue to serve as a central framework for Australian employers, given existing legislative protections; and
• The potential long-term implications of this global movement on the future practice of DEI in Corporate Australia.

We will be announcing the launch of this report shortly. Stay tuned ...