13-03-2025
Trump's DEI Attacks Are Affecting Diverse Hiring Goals the Most
(Bloomberg) -- At the surging number of companies rolling back DEI programs in the US following President Donald Trump's attack on the initiatives, the biggest casualty has been hiring goals tied to diversity, new research found.
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Since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, there's been a near doubling of US companies changing their diversity, equity and inclusion programs compared to the seven months prior, according to an analysis of company statements over the last eight months by Gravity Research, a risk management research firm.
Among the 37 firms that announced a combined 118 changes, 47% revised or eliminated diversity hiring goals, the report found. The next-largest impacts were to DEI teams and to participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, the report said.
Trump's flurry of executive orders on DEI, which raised the prospect of criminal prosecution for violations, have amped up pressure on companies since he took office. Prior to the election, most of the companies skinning back DEI were responding to consumer boycott threats from anti-DEI activists such as Robby Starbuck. Now the focus has shifted as companies cite the changing legal and regulatory environment, said Kendall Seketa, Gravity's vice president of new products, who worked on the research.
'We will see companies who have federal contracts in particular adjust some of their public-facing DEI programs that could lead to scrutiny,' Seketa said. 'So that's things like aspirational goals or representation targets in leadership or in hiring.'
Even though the data show that companies are removing public-facing diversity goals and actions, conversations with DEI executives over the last several weeks suggest companies will continue to retain a focus on internal programs that enhance hiring and retention, Seketa said.
About two-thirds of the companies that cut DEI also mentioned a continued focus on 'inclusion,' 'belonging,' and 'accessibility,' the study found.
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