When Fox News aired a segment last week that set out to ”expose the DEI racket,” it included a clip of diversity consultant Ritu Bhasin speaking about the connection between white supremacy and racism. Since then, the former lawyer who now counsels law firms across the U.S. and Canada on DEI has been bombarded with a torrent of hateful vitriol she says is all too common for professionals working in the diversity, equity and inclusion space.

As a former Bay Street lawyer in Toronto whose company, Bhasin Consulting, works with professional firms, including more than 200 law firms across North America, she said she’s not usually subjected to the type of open hostility many of her DEI peers face. Much of the hate mail she received was anonymous and expletive-laden, misogynistic, and filled with calls for her to “go back to where she came from.”