Florida DEI leader sees revenue cut in half due to state policies: 'We're in trouble'
Multiple diversity, equity and inclusion consulting companies have been struggling in Florida in the years following the "Stop WOKE Act."
Roni Bennett, the Executive Director of South Florida People of Color, told the Miami Herald on Thursday that she has seen her annual revenue of nearly $300,000 be cut in half thanks to Florida's new policies.
"We’re in trouble," Bennett said.
The "Stop WOKE Act" or the "Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act" is a law that was passed in 2022 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. It targeted critical race theory in work and educational programs. Bennett found that many businesses stopped requesting services from her organization despite a slight boost during the pandemic.
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Bennett added how even prior to the act she saw shifts in some clients’ attitudes, suggesting their original interest was "performative."
"One client had a president change, and the new president wasn’t into DEI training," she said.
Consultants like Bennett are now trying to remind current and potential clients that, regardless of the national concerns about the "Stop WOKE Act," the bill does not actually target private businesses.
"It’s important because the Stop Woke Act for businesses became very prominent after passing," Alexander Rundlet, a Brickell lawyer and public policy consultant, said. "It made every business fearful it couldn’t [participate] in DEI training in fear of the act. Since March, it’s clear this doesn’t apply to businesses."
In March, a federal appeals court ruled that the workplace portion of the law violated the First Amendment.
"We cannot agree, and we reject this latest attempt to control speech by recharacterizing it as conduct. Florida may be exactly right about the nature of the ideas it targets. Or it may not. Either way, the merits of these views will be decided in the clanging marketplace of ideas rather than a codebook or a courtroom." Judge Britt C. Grant wrote at the time. "The First Amendment keeps the government from putting its thumb on the scale."
A federal judge later granted a permanent injunction against that portion of the law in July. However, the portion of the law focused on education has been allowed to remain intact.
Despite the favorable ruling, DEI consultant businesses continue to struggle based on the growing anti-woke culture, Rundlet said.
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"A lot of deep and widespread harm has been inflicted over the past few years," Rundlet said. "People like Roni Bennett have to do a lot of work to undue that harm."
The Miami Herald reported that Bennett nevertheless "remains steadfast in her work," though she is looking for an angel investor to help her business.
"We owe it to the next generation to make progress for them," she said. "I want to be able to dismantle systematic racism in America."