Companies stay quiet on DEI in the Trump era

Companies, notably large employers, are pulling back and hushing up about diversity, equity and inclusion, per a survey of executives out Wednesday.

Why it matters: The survey from employment law firm Littler Mendelson was conducted in two waves — once before and once after President Trump's inauguration — and is a stark illustration of the outsized impact of the White House's broad crackdown on diversity initiatives.

By the numbers: After Trump took office last month, 53% of the executives surveyed said his anti-DEI policies will likely lead organizations in general to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

• That's a sharp increase from what executives said before January 20, when only 38% said this.
• 55% of executives polled said they are now more worried about the risk of DEI-related lawsuits, government enforcement actions, and shareholder proposals.
• Those fears are more widespread among federal contractors (74%), public companies (67%) and large employers (65%).

How they did it: 347 C-suite executives, including chief executives, legal officers and diversity heads, were surveyed in December 2024. Then 340 executives were surveyed again in early February.

The most common change firms are making in the DEI space: They're looking to stop talking about this stuff publicly.

• 61% of executives surveyed said they're weighing whether to remove or reduce DEI-related language from websites, proxy statements, and/or outward-facing communications.
• The share jumps to 70% for executives at federal contractors and public companies who are facing more regulatory pressure.

"Diversity has almost become a bad word," an unnamed general counsel told Littler Mendelson, though "we've managed to maintain several previously implemented initiatives regardless of what they are called."

Reality check: Companies really are split here. 47% of executives said their DEI commitments remain the same or might even grow.

• "I think it's perceived that everyone is abandoning [their DEI efforts], but think the survey shows that's not the case," said Jeanine Conley Daves, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson.

State of play: On Tuesday afternoon, Apple shareholders rejected an anti-DEI proposal from an activist group, a victory for the company and proponents of diversity work in Corporate America.

• Anti-DEI shareholder proposals are becoming more common, more than doubling in 2024 to 13 from six the prior year, according to a tally from the Conference Board out this week. The group is advising companies to prepare for more in the coming months.

The bottom line: "I think the work on diversity will go on," Richard Edelman, CEO of communications firm Edelman, told Axios in an interview, unrelated to the survey, on Monday.

• For many firms it's a business imperative to foster a diverse workforce, he said. "It may be going on under a different name, but it will go on."

Editor's Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that surveyed executives were responding to a question about companies in general (not their own companies specifically).