SHRM has taken controversial stances on several issues in recent years. Now, in a move that’s angered many HR and DEI professionals, the organization announced it will welcome conservative extremist, conspiracy theorist, and anti-DEI, anti-LGBTQ+ activist Robby Starbuck to speak on the main stage of its inclusion conference, Blueprint, in October.

Catch up. SHRM hosted its first DEI conference nearly 30 years ago. Originally called the Workplace Diversity Conference, it was rebranded (again) in July to seemingly distance itself from its DEI roots, HR Brew previously reported. DEI leaders have since shared their concerns about the rebrand online, including worries that SHRM is erasing the work that the conference was built on. Now that Starbuck is set to take the main stage for a DEI debate with media personality and former political strategist Van Jones, many DEI practitioners feel that SHRM has lost the plot.

Who is this guy? Starbuck is a former movie producer who entered politics in 2022. After a failed run for Congress, he became a conservative influencer. He has publicly espoused misinformation about Covid-19 and the great replacement theory (which many scholars agree is a racist conspiracy theory), and believes that DEI is inherently discriminatory (however DEI is legal, when programs are designed properly). He also regularly spreads hateful rhetoric about the LGBTQ+ community, has attacked the Human Rights Campaign and drag shows, and made a movie that uses misinformation to falsely claim that the LGBTQ+ movement grooms children.

Disappointed professionals. HR professionals from various industries took to LinkedIn to decry SHRM for giving Starbuck a platform on their stage, calling it just the latest in a pattern.

For more on how HR professionals have responded to SHRM, keep reading here.—KP

The UK is in the midst of economic slowdown, and it’s hitting employers and workers, according to the Independent.

Where in the world? The UK job market has been unstable since October 2024, and employers are struggling. Just 11% of UK employers plan to hire before the end of the year, the sharpest recruitment decline in the world, according to a new report from ManpowerGroup. Businesses in the UK have to decide if they want to invest in new workers or AI and automation, according to Tagg, and are looking to reduce costs and use “flexible hiring arrangements” to adapt to the new economic reality.

Workers are seemingly reacting in kind, with more than half recently saying they are more focused on job security than career ambition, according to the Independent. The trend (because everything needs a name these days) is referred to as “job hugging.”

Satellite view. Job hugging isn’t just happening in the UK—workers in the US are also holding onto their jobs for dear life.

For more on how the job hugging trend is taking shape around the world, keep reading here.—KP

According to CompTIA’s analysis of numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tech unemployment ticked up to 3% from July’s 2.9% (and June’s 2.8%). Total jobs in the sector declined and postings fell precipitously.

It’s a situation that has challenges, but is “not all doom and gloom,” CompTIA Chief Research Officer Tim Herbert said in a statement.

“Hiring intent data continues to show employers pursuing tech talent across a range of disciplines, from AI and data science to tech support and cloud engineering,” Herbert said.

For more on the state of tech employment, keep reading on IT Brew.—EH