This year was largely dominated by competing conversations around the viability and future of DE&I, from rollbacks at companies like Walmart and Lowe’s to lawsuits to an incoming administration that has put DE&I initiatives on notice.
Regardless of the headlines declaring DE&I DOA, recent research suggests the majority of Fortune 500 companies are continuing at least some DE&I initiatives, and experts believe the work will continue in 2025, even if how it’s discussed changes.
New challenges. There are currently 62 lawsuits pending against companies, universities, and the government over DE&I practices, according to the Meltzer Center Advancing DE&I Initiative. (Seven others have been dismissed so far.)
Two of those lawsuits could impact corporations. Both suits were filed by America First Legal, led by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller. One targets Southwest Airlines’ program geared towards Latino students, while the other claims Target’s DE&I initiatives posed risks to shareholders.
Some Trump allies recently created the Azoria Meritocracy fund, an ETF that only invests in companies without DE&I initiatives. It’s the latest move by conservatives to encourage anti-DE&I investing, Axios reported.
President-elect Trump has vowed to go after corporate DE&I initiatives in 2025, Reuters reported. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division could investigate and sue companies over DE&I practices that they believe are illegal. However, lawyers note that this would be outside the DOJ’s scope, and that only the Democrat-led EEOC can pursue workplace discrimination oversight.
Congress has been building a case against DE&I, as well. The Dismantle DE&I Act, which would ban the programs from the federal government and government subcontractors, passed the House Oversight Committee in November. The bill will likely be put to a vote next year (though a federal court in Florida overturned similar legislation against private companies over the summer).
By the numbers. Despite rumors that companies will quit DE&I, and rollbacks at 10 employers, 97% of the Fortune 500 still have DE&I statements, programs, or “other advocacy material,” according to a recent conservative-led Heritage Foundation report.
The anti-DE&I messaging may be impacting perception, according to an October survey by Pew Research. It found that DE&I has a slightly less favorable view among US workers now than it did in Feb. 2023 (52% vs. 56%), and 21% of workers believe it’s “a bad thing,” up 5%. The report also found that Republicans and white workers are most likely to believe that DE&I hurts white workers.
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Regardless, the C-suite and director-level and above roles at US companies are still dominated by white men. While (largely white) women have made significant gains in recent years, companies have reduced their career advancement programs for women since 2022, LeanIn and McKinsey found. In 2022, 48% of employers had mentorship programs for women; that dropped to 37% in 2024.
Despite the slight dip in favorability, 61% of people in the US think corporate DE&I programs are “a good thing,” a Washington Post and Ipsos survey found.
Don’t talk about it. Some experts predict that while DE&I efforts will continue, fewer companies will broadcast them.
“Some organizations have come and they’ve said, ‘we’re not scaling back, however, we’re not going to talk about it as publicly, simply because they want to avoid being too vocal about their DE&I strategies, the fear of sort of putting the spotlight on what they’re doing,” Claudine Moore, who leads the global DE&I practice at communications firm Allison Worldwide, told HR Brew. “What we’re seeing more of, is clients who are sticking with their DE&I, but are deciding not to talk about it as much.”
DE&I practitioners should use 2025 as a time to reflect on the work they’ve been doing and make sure it’s sustainable, Victoria Russell, managing director of inclusion strategy at PwC, told HR Brew. “You can’t die on every sword,” she said. Leaders should ensure they’re creating a company culture that’s inclusive for everyone. “Whether you’re married to the letters of ‘DEI’ or not, or are you married to the spirit of what the work is intended to do?”
Russell also recommended that DE&I leaders tap into the business side of their roles as much as possible. “The more that practitioners are able to connect the dots to the business, the more successful we’ll start to be and it will get easier. We’ll see a little bit more traction in the space.”