SHRM rebrands Inclusion conference, citing evolving DEI landscape

SHRM’s annual inclusion conference held in the fall has a new name for 2025, a change the HR organization said is meant to respond to a challenging DEI landscape for employers.

The event previously known as SHRM Inclusion and first held as the Workplace Diversity Conference in 1996 is now SHRM Blueprint. A SHRM spokesperson told HR Dive in an email that the decision to drop inclusion from the event’s title won’t be extended to its programming, which will feature content focused on inclusion.

“We are not retreating from inclusion — we are reinforcing it with deeper rigor, sharper guidance, and legal foresight,” the spokesperson said. “We believe inclusion for the diverse workforce is more important than ever.”

The rebrand comes nearly a year after SHRM announced that it would drop equity from its DEI platform in favor of a more narrow focus on inclusion and diversity. In a previous interview with HR Dive, SHRM CHRO Jim Link said that change was made in response to debates around equity’s meaning, a conversation that SHRM viewed as a “distraction” from broader DEI work.

But the move to I&D from DEI also sparked criticism from members of the HR community, who questioned the organization’s rationale at a time of growing DEI backlash.

Since then, DEI has become a cultural as well as a political flashpoint, with the second Trump administration seeking to end public- and private-sector DEI programs it says promote illegal workplace discrimination. The White House’s efforts extend to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued joint guidance with the Justice Department in March outlining how DEI programs may be unlawful.

SHRM said it is shifting its I&D work in response to the Trump administration and EEOC efforts — as well as the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision rejecting higher proof-burden standards for majority-group plaintiffs alleging job discrimination — “so that we can guide HR Leaders and their organizations as they navigate the environment.”

The event’s website similarly notes that those factors, alongside intensifying public scrutiny, “are rewriting how organizations approach diversity, risk, and regulation.”

“SHRM remains deeply committed to advancing inclusion and diversity,” the spokesperson said. The renamed SHRM Blueprint “is an evolution of our efforts to ensure that I&D strategies are not just aspirational but also actionable, legally compliant, and aligned with business goals.”

The event will be held Oct. 26-29 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky.