PORTLAND — Muhammad Humza Khan had to reschedule the fourth annual Inclusion Maine conference, a three-day gathering designed to help employers attract and retain a diverse workforce in a highly competitive job market.

Initially planned in February, the 2025 conference seemed to run contrary to many actions and policies being introduced at the time by President Donald Trump, particularly those targeting immigrants and defunding diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Six months later, Khan, a 30-year-old Pakistani immigrant who founded Inclusion Maine, is running the conference as planned this week at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland — with a robust turnout and a packed agenda from Tuesday afternoon through Thursday.

More than 600 presenters, exhibitors and attendees have signed up for the conference, in line with previous years, Khan said. Presentations and workshops are being offered in person and online.

“For us, this isn’t a political issue,” Khan said Tuesday as the conference opened. “We want Maine to be a place where anyone can live and work and feel welcome.”

Trump’s sweeping executive orders have ended decades-long hiring priorities for the federal government — and stymied efforts by private companies to ensure their staffs are diverse and inclusive. In response to the president’s orders, high-profile companies such as Target Corp., Goldman Sachs, Uber, Google and Meta scaled back or ended their own DEI initiatives — many of them created in the wake of protests over the police killing of George Floyd, a Black man, in 2020.

MAINE’S GROWING WORKFORCE NEEDS

Khan and others say Maine employers need to revamp their hiring strategies to be more attractive in a highly competitive labor market nationwide. Maine’s workforce needs 75,000 new skilled professionals by 2029 and over 400,000 people in Maine’s labor force are expected to retire in the next two decades, according to state data.

Maine’s unemployment rate is historically low, and the state’s metropolitan areas have some of the lowest jobless rates in the nation, according to recent federal data. That makes it even more difficult for employers here to find workers.

Among 387 metro areas in the country analyzed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in June, the Portland-South Portland area had the third-lowest unemployment rate at 2.2%. Only two metro areas — Sioux Falls and Rapid City, both in South Dakota — had lower rates.

“We want to be open to all people, regardless of race, gender, religion or age,” Khan said. “The cost of living and access to housing are significant drivers in where people choose to live. The differentiation for Maine can be how we make people feel about living here.”

INCLUSIVE HIRING EFFORTS

Khan said none of the Maine companies that sponsored the conference in the past withdrew their support this year, but some of the more than 40 firms are concerned they may lose federal funding or contracts as a result of continuing DEI efforts.

Androscoggin Bank is a returning sponsor, along with Unum, MEMIC, MaineHealth, Geiger, Portland Museum of Art, Allagash Brewing Co., Portside Real Estate Group and Colby College.

“Our founding legacy 155 years ago was to support the Irish, French Canadian and other immigrants who built Lewiston-Auburn, so we understand the value of our New Mainer community,” said Neil Kiely, Androscoggin Bank’s CEO.

“Every company is in competition to find the best employees,” he said. “We have an ongoing commitment to find the most talented people and increase diversity in a way that’s anchored in its advantages and provides access to talent of all kinds.”

DEI consultants David Sanchez-Aguilera, Kari Heistad and Deo Mwano delivered a panel discussion Wednesday afternoon to help employers navigate uncertainty and backlash in the wake of Trump’s actions.

Sanchez-Aguilera said the essence of inclusive hiring is making it easier for people with different backgrounds and qualifications to apply for jobs and feel they belong. That means redesigning everything from job descriptions to benefits packages to ensure they don’t presume English is the preferred first language or that everyone is part of a nuclear family, he said.

To ensure hiring practices conform to law and don’t fall afoul of the Trump administration’s orders, he said employers should focus on structural and procedural obstacles rather than identity-based preferences.

“Keep it universal,” he said.

‘BEING GOOD COMPANIES’

Heistad noted that 65% of U.S. companies intend to maintain or increase their DEI budgets while adapting messaging, program titles and implementation strategies, according to resume.org.

“Some companies are doubling down,” she said, while others are calling it “employee engagement” instead of DEI training, with a focus on just being “good companies.”

Ed Suslovic, board president of Metro, Greater Portland’s bus service, said the transit company is fully staffed in large part because it has hired many immigrants — not by seeking new Mainers specifically but by being open to the skills and abilities they offer.

“Metro is a much better place because we are a diverse organization,” Suslovic said. “In this job market, if you’re not being creative and open-minded in your hiring practices, you’re not going to be fully staffed.”

Updating hiring practices to attract and retain a diverse workforce can help companies ensure their work environments are welcoming to people from various backgrounds, Suslovic said. They include veterans, older adults, people with disabilities, and immigrants and other applicants whose professional experience or degrees may not fit typical job descriptions.

Katie Brown, founder of EnGen, a language “upskilling” platform used by several Maine firms and agencies that support or hire immigrants, said Maine is doing a good job building a sustainable talent pipeline for its newest residents.

“Whether you call it DEI or something else, it doesn’t change the fact that we need to be welcoming,” Brown said. “And in this economy, it’s an imperative. We don’t have enough workers. We can’t not include them.”

Nawras Alfaris, a case manager with Maine Immigrant & Refugee Services in Lewiston, was checking about resources offered by exhibitors Wednesday afternoon.

“When we have any information we think might be helpful, we share it with our clients,” he said.

One of the exhibitors is Mai Elzahwy, an associate broker with Portside Real Estate Group. She’s presenting a workshop Thursday on providing assistance to first-time homebuyers as part of workforce development.

“We run on diversity and inclusion,” she said. “We have a shortage of housing inventory and we need to be attracting people to Maine.”