President Trump claims ‘we ended DEI,’ but that’s not quite true

President Donald Trump claimed during his Feb. 24 State of the Union address that “we ended DEI in America,” but research indicates that’s not quite accurate. The majority of leaders and workers in the US still value DEI policies, according to a recent survey by the Conference Board.

Most (77%) US employees said it’s important to work with colleagues with diverse viewpoints and identities in 2025. However, just 50% believe DEI positively impacts their work experience, down 7% YoY.

“That doesn’t mean that they don’t appreciate DEI or value it, but they’re just not seeing it make a difference,” Allan Schweyer, principal researcher, human capital, at the Conference Board, told HR Brew. “What we saw last year was best explained by, ‘We’re still not seeing DEI efforts result in improvements in my personal work experience and benefits to the organization’ because…there are a lot of training that doesn’t translate into the day-to-day work.”

Furthermore, 63% of workers “would not, or would reluctantly,” work for an employer that doesn’t value DEI, down 5% from 2024.

While some conservatives have promoted the false narrative that DEI has been dismantled in the workplace, a closer examination shows that DEI, no matter what it is called, is alive and well, HR Brew found. More than half of Fortune 100 companies changed or removed public-facing DEI language following President Trump’s reelection, but the majority still have policies and programs associated with DEI foundations.

Roughly seven in 10 executives said their employer had more DEI resources in 2025 than in 2024, and 66% believe that DEI positively impacts their business, according to the Conference Board.

“What leaders need to do now is to look at what really matters, and what we found matters more than anything else is to ensure that your managers are extremely adept at making people feel like they are included and belong in the organization,” Schweyer said, noting that executives need to address the gap between the benefits from and experience of DEI. “The future of diversity, equity, and inclusion is not about doing more. It’s about doing what works—and proving it."