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Efforts to diversify workplaces and promote equality are under attackmost recently with a sweeping crackdown from the Trump administration. But advocates and professionals who’ve dedicated their careers to diversity, equity, and inclusion are still committed to seeing the work continue.“We’ve been here for years,” said Amira Barger, executive vice president of communications and head of DEI advisory at Edelman. “I’m still encouraged, even in the midst of all this backlash.”While a number of prominent companies have recently changed or scaled back their DEI initiatives, other big names have worked to reinforce commitments to diversity and inclusion. Barger expects the majority to find a way to continue these efforts and stresses that leaders need to stand up and defend the work now more than ever.Barger recently spoke with the Associated Press. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.Q: Tell me about your work at Edelman.A: I actually wear two hats here at Edelman. So 50% of my time is focused on communications specifically for the health ecosystem. That’s everything from pharma to hospital systems, medical schools, you name it. And then the other 50% of my time is broader U.S. DEI advisory, which is sector agnostic.Every day is a little bit differentdepending on what’s happening in the world, what our clients are focused on and the goals that have been set for the year. Our teams work to help counsel clients on anything from executive orders that might come out around DEI rollbacks and initiatives, like we’re seeing today, to how to frame a particular communication for a multicultural audience in ways that are honoring people’s lived experiences.Q: We’ve seen a handful of big names pull back from their DEI efforts recently. What has that been like to witness?A: The pendulum continues to swing on the world of diversity, equity and inclusion. And what I’m feeling right now, in this moment of pushback that has been happening in this space, is that we’ve been here before.A lot of people earmark 2020 as a milestone for corporate DEI effortsin the movement following the murder of George Floyd. But we’ve been in the background doing this work quietly and sustainably for decades, going back to the writing of the Civil Rights Act. With all of the backlash and executive orders we’re seeing today, I think that’s probably what’s going to happen again. The work will continue, but executives might be a little more quiet about it.I foresee the majority of companies to continue efforts, but they might change the words or evolve in other ways. We’re seeing a lot of that, and it’s not new. We’ve also seen some big names reinforce their commitments to DEI, like Costco and Apple.Q: What other impacts do you anticipate from Trump’s actions to dismantle DEI initiatives at the federal level?A: Specific language from Trump’s recent executive orders dismantling federal DEI initiatives labels these efforts as being forced “illegal and immoral discrimination programs.” My concern here is that it undermines progress and ignores the systemic inequities that these programs are trying to address.And the orders may carry several implications for federal contractors. DEI initiatives could be deprioritized or deemed less relevant in the bidding process. Companies might encounter compliance or restructuring challenges. Suppliers that promote DEI principles may also face reduced preference in government contracting, potentially impacting existing partnerships. And businesses may find themselves navigating polarized stakeholder reactions.Q: What message would you give businesses navigating all of this?A: When DEI initiatives are attacked, companies need to be prepared to address the criticism by being really clear about demonstrating positive impacts of this kind of work. That means defending the work with facts. From increased innovation to a greater sense of belonging among employees, there are very real outcomes that companies can use to show measurable progress because of the existence of these programs. And it’s also important to invite input and take it seriously.What we need in this moment are leaders who have the nerve to be brave and to stand up for this work. There’s a lot of fear-mongering and uncertainty right nowand I think that can drive people to do things outside of what they might believe is true or rightso we need leaders to show that nerve in really big and powerful ways. My hope is that we’ll see some of that over this next year, even in the midst of a new administration that is clearly very anti-DEI. Wyatte Grantham-Philips, AP Business Writer
Category:
E-Commerce
Former President Jimmy Carter has won a posthumous Grammy award.Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, died in December at age 100. Prior to his passing, Carter was nominated in the audiobook, narration, and storytelling recording category at the 2025 Grammys for “Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration,” recordings from his final Sunday School lessons delivered at Maranatha Baptist Church in Georgia. Musicians Darius Rucker, LeAnn Rimes, and Jon Batiste are featured on the record.It’s Carter’s fourth Grammy. His posthumous Grammy joins his three previous ones for spoken word album.If the former president won before his death, he would’ve become the oldest Grammy award winner in history.Jason Carter, Jimmy Carter’s grandson who now chairs The Carter Center governing board, received the award on his behalf. “Having his words captured in this way for my family and for the world is truly remarkable,” he said in an acceptance speech. “Thank you to the academy.”In the category, Jimmy Carter beat out Barbra Streisand, George Clinton, Dolly Parton, and producer Guy Oldfield.If Streisand won instead of Carter, it would have been her first Grammy win in 38 years.Currently, the oldest person to win a Grammy was 97-year-old Pinetop Perkins in 2011.“He’s such an enormous music fan. He loves the creative aspect of music,” Jason Carter said backstage about his grandfather. “It’s been an important part of his political life, an important part of his personal life. He’s an artist in many ways.”Former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton have two Grammys apiece. First ladies Michelle Obama and Hilary Clinton have also each won.Former presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon were all nominated, but didn’t win. AP Entertainment Writers Andrew Dalton and Jonathan Landrum Jr. contributed to this report. For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards, visit: www.apnews.com/GrammyAwards Maria Sherman, AP Music Writer
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico, and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States.The trade penalties that Trump signed Saturday at his Florida resort caused a mix of panic, anger, and uncertainty, and threatened to rupture a decades-old partnership on trade in North America while further straining relations with China.Trump on Sunday night returned from Florida and threatened to impose steeper tariffs elsewhere, telling reporters that the import taxes will “definitely happen” with the European Union and possibly with the United Kingdom as well.He brushed aside retaliatory measures from Canada, saying, “If they want to play the game, I don’t mind. We can play the game all they want.” Trump said he plans to speak with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts on Monday.By following through on his tariffs campaign pledge, Trump may also have simultaneously broken his promise to voters in last year’s election that his administration could quickly reduce inflation. That means the same frustration he is facing from other nations might also spread domestically to consumers and businesses.“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!),” Trump said in a social media post. “BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.”His administration has not said what specific improvements would need to be seen in stopping illegal immigration and the smuggling of fentanyl to merit the removal of the tariffs that Trump imposed under the legal justification of an economic emergency. But Trump, speaking to reporters after Air Force One, landed said that the trade imbalances with Canada and Mexico would also need to be erased as a condition for lifting the tariffs.The president also tried to clarify his post about the possible inflation, saying on Sunday: “We may have in the short term, a little pain, and people understand that. But long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world.”The tariffs are set to launch Tuesday and triggered confusion as Canada’s U.S. ambassador, Kirsten Hillman, told ABC News that her country was perplexed by the move because “we view ourselves as your neighbor, your closest friend, your ally.”In his Truth Social post, Trump took particular aim at Canada, which responded with retaliatory measures. Trump is placing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods, with a 10% tax on oil, natural gas, and electricity. Canada is imposing 25% tariffs, more than $155 billion Canadian (US$105 billion), on U.S. products, including alcohol and fruit.Despite Trump’s assertions that the U.S. does not need Canada, one-quarter of the oil that America consumes per day is from its ally to the north. He reiterated his false claim that America subsidizes Canada by running a trade imbalance, a reflection in part of Canada exporting energy to the U.S.Trump contended that without that surplus, “Canada ceases to exist as a viable Country. Harsh but true! Therefore, Canada should become our Cherished 51st State. Much lower taxes, and far better military protection for the people of CanadaAND NO TARIFFS!”Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is encouraging Canadians to buy more Canadian goods, and says Trump’s moves will only cause pain across North America. More than 75% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S. Canada will first target alcohol, cosmetics, and paper products; a second round later will include passenger vehicles, trucks, steel and aluminum products, certain fruits and vegetables, beef, pork, dairy products, and more.Canada is the largest export market for 36 states and Mexico is the largest trading partner of the U.S.Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, also announced new tariffs and suggested the U.S. should do more within its own borders to address drug addiction. She and Trudeau spoke after Trump’s announcement and agreed “to enhance the strong bilateral relations” between Canada and Mexico, according to the prime minister’s office.The Chinese government said it would take steps to defend its economic interests and intends to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization.For Trump, the open question is whether inflation could be a political pressure point that would cause him to back down. As a candidate, Trump repeatedly hammered Democrats over the inflation under President Joe Biden that resulted from supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration’s own spending to spur the recovery and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Trump said his previous four years as president had low inflation, so the public should expect the same if he came back to the White House. But he also said specifically that higher inflation would stagger the U.S. as a nation, a position from which he now appears to be retreating with the promise of even more tariffs to come.The U.S. president did not offer details Sunday about when he would impose tariffs elsewhere, but he said they would be coming “pretty soon” for the EU, which is also composed of U.S. allies.Larry Summers, treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, said the tariffs were a “self-inflicted wound to the American economy.”He told CNN’s Inside Politics that “on the playground or in international relations, bullying is not an enduringly winning strategy. And that’s what this is.” And the ultimate winner, Summers suggested, would be Chinese leader Xi Jinping because “we’ve moved to drive some of our closest allies into his arms” and “we’re legitimating everything he’s doing by violating all the international norms that we set up.”Outside analyses make clear that Trump’s tariffs would hurt the voters that he intended to help, meaning that he might ultimately need to find a resolution.An analysis by the Budget Lab at Yale shows that if the tariffs were to continue, an average U.S. household would lose roughly $1,245 in income this year, in what would be the overall equivalent of a more than $1.4 trillion tax increase over the next 10 years.Goldman Sachs, in a Sunday analyst note, stressed that the tariffs go into effect on Tuesday, which means they’re likely to proceed “though a last-minute compromise cannot be completely ruled out.”The investment bank concluded that because of the possible economic damage and possible conditions for removal “we think it is more likely that the tariffs will be temporary but the outlook is unclear.” Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York and Rob Gillies in Toronto contributed to this report. Josh Boak, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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