Within the five years that have passed since the murder of George Floyd, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and massive anti-discrimination protests across the country, the phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) has taken on heavy significance. Once widely heralded as a promising tool to promote a more egalitarian society, DEI, like many other things in our currently polarized society, has become a loaded term that represents vastly different things to different people.

Yet despite the negative light in which many politicians in power now cast DEI efforts—and numerous successful legal challenges to workplace diversity initiatives—a new survey reveals that a majority of employers and employees still believe that promoting diversity is a corporate asset.

In 2020, urged by outrage over Floyd’s killing and a national conversation about race and the status of African-Americans in the U.S., many companies, large and small, championed the ideals of DEI in the workplace. They initiated—or doubled-down on—corporate DEI initiatives, and they drew attention to their efforts, marketing themselves as employers sensitive to the importance of diversity in both society and business. They hired chief diversity officers, required diversity and racial sensitivity training of their employees, actively recruited from poorly represented groups, and rewarded executives for their efforts to diversify their staff.

Many said these efforts barely scraped the surface of remedying America’s entrenched legacy of racial discrimination. But many others said the pendulum had swung too far, to the extent that majority groups were being disadvantaged by efforts to recruit and cultivate diverse workforces.

Today, the latter belief has been given more credence by the political party in power, and well-known American personalities openly question the value of DEI efforts. In many cases, the courts are on their side, ruling against the legality of DEI initiatives. Companies that rushed to prove their “woke” credentials just five years ago have disbanded their diversity offices, fired their chief diversity officers, and eliminated required diversity training.

Since late last year, a growing list of the titans of American industry, including Walmart, McDonald’s, Meta, Target, Google, Amazon, Pepsi, Deloitte, Disney, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase—among others—have either eliminated or significantly curtailed the DEI initiatives they once touted as business assets. According to workforce analytics firm Revelio Labs, in the past two years, U.S. employers eliminated more than 2,600 jobs with words including “diversity” or “DEI” in their titles or descriptions, accounting for about 13% of the DEI-related jobs that existed in early 2023, at the peak of the DEI hiring boom. Many leaders tapped to oversee their companies’ investments in diversifying their workforces have been let go—and their job prospects are bleak.

But that’s not the entire story, a recent research report finds.

Despite this year’s headline-grabbing backlash against DEI, a new survey—which claims to be the largest workplace inclusion survey since the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate the U.S. government’s DEI efforts—suggests these efforts are still popular. The national survey found that both business executives and their employees broadly support and believe in the value of diversity initiatives in the workplace—even if they’re now calling it by another name.

The survey of 2,500 U.S. executives and employees conducted by Catalyst—a national nonprofit organization that promotes women in leadership roles—and New York University’s Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging reveals that most workers believe in the value of DEI—although they may choose to couch it in different terms than during the George Floyd era.

The results of the Catalyst/NYU survey, summarized in the report, “Risks of Retreat: The Enduring Inclusion Imperative,” found that although most of the C-suite executives surveyed say their organizations have experienced pressure to move away from their commitment to DEI this year, many also say they recognize the good business sense that diversity initiatives make. Survey respondents identified real business risks associated with abandoning previous DEI initiatives and investments, including:

Many of those surveyed say they value companies that value DEI, and executives say that impacts their bottom line:

• 69% of respondents say they would be more likely to purchase a product or service from an organization that supports DEI.
• 36% of respondents say they plan to boycott organizations that are downsizing or eliminating DEI programs.
• 81% of C-suite leaders say they have seen a positive correlation between their DEI programs and customer loyalty; 77% have seen a positive correlation between DEI programs and their companies’ financial performance.
• 86% of C-suite leaders say diversifying leadership roles at U.S. companies would positively impact innovation, creativity, and financial performance.

More than three-quarters of respondents to the Catalyst/NYU survey (76%) say they are more likely to stay with their employer long-term if they continue to support DEI, and 84% of C-suite leaders say their organizations have seen a positive correlation between their DEI programs and employee attraction and retention. Employee respondents voiced overwhelming support for organizational initiatives that traditionally fall under DEI programs:

• 92% support creating a more inclusive work environment (e.g., by establishing nursing rooms, childcare facilities, and better accessibility for disabled workers).
• 90% support company programs intended to increase representation from all groups (e.g., via internships, mentorship programs, and leadership training).
• 88% support employee training on topics such as bias, allyship, and inclusion.
• 86% support workforce diversity hiring goals.

More than half (55%) of C-suite executives responding to the survey say that within the past year, their organization has dealt with negative fallout as a result of their previously enacted DEI programs, including social media attacks, threatening letters from advocacy groups, complaints from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or other charges/litigation, and protests against diversity initiatives.

However, 68% of C-suite leaders also say that moving away from DEI would create more legal risk for their organizations. Specifically, the Catalyst/NYU report states, “64% of the C-suite … agree there is greater risk of litigation alleging discrimination from traditional plaintiffs (e.g., people from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities) than non-traditional plaintiffs (i.e., members of dominant or majority groups).”

“Survey respondents identified real business risks associated with abandoning previous DEI initiatives and investments.”

Nevertheless, 21% of C-suite respondents to the Catalyst/NYU survey say the current political and legal environment is causing them to reassess their investment in DEI programs, and 18% say they have reduced that investment. There are indications, however, that rather than completely abandoning their commitment to fostering diversity in their workforce, many companies are couching their DEI initiatives in different terms. Seventy-eight percent of corporate executives responding to the survey say they are “rebranding” their DEI programs with terms such as “employee engagement,” “workplace culture,” “fairness,” or “belonging.”

Even companies that have chosen to eliminate their DEI programs entirely, citing Supreme Court decisions and the president’s executive orders declaring diversity efforts illegal, indicate that they remain aware of the advantages these programs bring. In a May 2025 letter to the Federal Communications Commission detailing its elimination of its numerous DEI initiatives, Verizon states that it “has a long history of serving all members in the communities where we operate, which has been a competitive business advantage and enables long-term shareholder value. Delivering for customers requires attracting the best talent from across the country.”

In its public statement announcing the end of its diversity initiatives in January 2025, Target stated, “We remain focused on driving our business by creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests, and communities through a commitment to inclusion. Belonging for all is an essential part of our team and culture, helping fuel consumer relevance and business results.”

And when Meta announced the dissolution of its DEI program at the start of the year, it retained its employment of its chief diversity officer, Maxine Williams—although it changed her title to “vice president of accessibility and engagement.” In a letter to employees announcing the end of Meta’s DEI programs, Williams also stated, “Our Global Communities contribute to the richness of our experiences as we learn from each other and leverage our different backgrounds, working together to build products for the world.”

Regardless of the names companies give to their diversity initiatives, says Jennifer McCollum, president and CEO of Catalyst, corporate leaders know the benefits of investing in fostering diversity among their staff. “Inclusion has never been a liability—it’s a competitive advantage and a business imperative,” McCollum explains. “The data prove that organizations committed to the principles of opportunity and fairness behind DEI will be the ones that outperform their peers, retain talent, and build lasting trust.”

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