DEI Expert Talks About Navigating Companies and Employees Through DEI Policy Changes

Natalie E. Norfus is the Founder of The Norfus Firm. PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDERSON GROUP PR.
Natalie E. Norfus is the Founder of The Norfus Firm. PHOTO PROVIDED BY ANDERSON GROUP PR.

DEI Expert Talks About Navigating Companies and Employees Through DEI Policy Changes

By Tia Carol Jones

Natalie E. Norfus is a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Expert, founder of The Norfus Firm and host of the What’s the DEIL podcast. Norfus said that the acronym DEI has been villainized and weaponized, but that villainization and weaponization doesn’t dig into what DEI actually is. 

She said a lot of headlines are talking about companies walking back their DEI initiative, without getting to the substance of what is actually happening. She said some companies are keeping the substance of their DEI initiatives, supporting employees and making sure the workplace is inclusive, while not being as vocal calling it DEI.

“As a DEI Expert, I don’t care what you’re calling it, as long as you’re getting to the substance of it and insuring that you’re making room for different perspectives, the rules are clear and fair, there are practices in place to help people feel like they’re valued, and that’s really at its core, what we’re trying to get at in the workplace,” she said.

Norfus said that organizations should be transparent about shifts in their DEI policy. She said when companies and organizations are making statements about walking back DEI they should be clear with their employees about what they mean by those words. She said something as simple as telling employees the company cares about their experience in the workplace, and that they don’t want to get caught up in political terms.

 She said, that way, employees know the company cares about their experience in the workplace and not to take the shift and change in language to mean the company does not care about the employee or their experience. She said it would set the right tone in communicating changes.

Norfus said as a DEI practitioner, she saw the narrative of DEI get away from its initial intent. She said it was difficult for DEI professionals because they were working from different definitions of what the term meant. She said she thinks if there was a firm standard or definition of what DEI means in the workplace, there could have been control of the narrative. 

Norfus said none of her clients have completely given up or said they were backing away from their DEI efforts. She did say she has heard from people that they do not know where their companies stands, which can create stress. She said training programs that help develop more inclusive leaders using tip sheets and fact sheets are still perfectly legal. She can see where the companies might change the title of the training, but not doing it altogether would hurt their business.

“You need to have leaders who know how to lead to get things done. If your leaders are not trained how to lead or manage, you’re going to have a lot of other issues that have nothing to do with politics or the law,” she said.

Norfus said that she understands that it is upsetting for people, especially those who have government jobs, see executive orders come out and the rhetoric that goes with it. She said people should understand that the executive order on DEI is unlawful, and it is already being challenged. In early February, the city of Baltimore filed a lawsuit over the executive order, which halted federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs. 

“This happens all the time where people try to go beyond the authority they have, someone sues and a court says you don’t have the right to do that and I expect that is what will happen here,” she said.

She suggested that employees should educate themselves on the process, use their voice to speak up about it with data-backed positioning, and to make sure they are aware of all the different ways their company communicates information. She said that employees should stay aware of what’s going on in the organization so that they know when they should be speaking up.

On her What’s the DEIL podcast, Norfus’ first episode focused on why DEI still matters in 2025 and there has been follow up episodes focusing on how policy changes in DEI might affect employees and what leaders should do. In subsequent weeks, Norfus has done more episodes about the narrative around DEI, as well as posting resources on social media every day. Her goal is to provide a more balanced view of what is going on.

“Until you don’t need humans to do work, you do, and humans want DEI practices. There’s a lot of data about that,” she said.

For more information about The Norfus Firm, visit thenorfusfirm.com. The What’s the DEIL podcast is available on YouTube, Apple and Spotify. 


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