Ep #116: The DEI Retreat and the Business Cost No One Is Talking About, with Joe Gerstandt

What happens when a profession designed to bring more humanity into organisations gets weaponised by a culture war?When language that was meant to create belonging becomes something both sides throw at each other?And when the corporate world quietly retreats from work it once pledged to champion, what are the real consequences for innovation, adaptability, and long-term survival?In this episode of TIE Unearthed, I sit down with Joe Gerstandt, a speaker, author, and advisor with over 25 years of experience leading and supporting organisational DEI efforts across nearly every industry imaginable. From Fortune 100 companies to government, healthcare, and nonprofits, Joe has spent his career helping leaders move beyond performative conversations and toward something far more grounded: cultures where people can actually think, challenge, contribute, and belong.But this conversation isn't a defence of a programme or a political argument.It's a clear-eyed look at what went wrong, what was never properly understood, and what's actually at stake.Joe talks candidly about the backlash against DEI in corporate America, why so many organisations quietly walked away, and how fear, legal uncertainty, and short-term thinking have distorted conversations that were always meant to be about people. He shares why DEI as a profession was chronically underfunded and under-supported long before the backlash, and why that changes how we should evaluate what's actually happened.We talk about what Kodak and Blockbuster have to do with inclusion. Why organisations that stop listening eventually stop adapting. And what it really costs to build cultures where truth can no longer be spoken safely across levels and across difference.Joe ends with Minneapolis. With a community that faced something hard, and responded in a way that quietly answers the question this whole conversation had been circling.You'll want to hear this.👉 Don't forget to share your thoughts, leave a review, and subscribe.If you'd like to stay updated on future episodes and other inspiring stories from TIE, join our newsletter here.If you would like to order my international bestselling book Return on Humanity: Leadership lessons from all corners of the earth, you can do that here.