The federal government has issued multiple threats and directives to companies with DEI programming since President Trump returned to office. These, coupled with lawsuits and attacks from right-wing activists, appear to be impacting how companies publicly approach DEI, according to a recent study from the Conference Board.
What’s in a name? A rose by any other name could be…a daffodil? The report found that companies have rebranded DEI terminology in public documents, oftentimes omitting references altogether. Terms like “diversity,” “gender,” “race,” and “DEI” peaked in Q1 2024, but in 2025, fell below 2021 levels. “DEI” has largely been replaced with language that companies believe is safer, like “inclusion and belonging.”
Furthermore, 53% of the 100 largest US public companies made “material” adjustments to DEI language, compared to the year prior. Companies were most likely to remove the word “equity” from documents.
While some believe companies may be able to avoid legal scrutiny by adopting softer DEI language, some government officials have warned that rebranding would not protect them. Some DEI proponents believe that backing away from DEI initiatives impedes the work. The government has threatened to target any companies still practicing DEI under a different name.
Deleting demographics. Many companies have also changed their approach to tracking and reporting workforce and board demographics, the Conference Board found.
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There was little change in the number of S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies that shared racial data, but there was a marked difference in reporting on gender representation, especially in management. In 2024, 71.2% of S&P 500 companies and 60.1% of Russell 3000 companies reported how many women were in management, but that dropped to 55.1% and 47.9% respectively in 2025.
Many S&P companies have stopped sharing board diversity numbers as well (54.8% in 2024 vs. 32.6% in 2025). Some 28.7% companies did not disclose the gender breakdown of their boards in 2025, compared to just 1.4% in 2024, and one-third of companies did not disclose racial diversity this year, up from 2.5% in 2024.
Employers are left to navigate changing political guidance and stakeholders while keeping an inclusive environment that attracts workers, the report cautioned.
“The decision not to disclose certain metrics, while it aligns with current compliance expectations, may carry longer-term costs by weakening stakeholder trust (including current and potential employees), limiting internal accountability, and complicating engagement with institutional investors and global regulators who may continue to expect robust human capital disclosures.”