81% of organizations remain committed to inclusion, report finds

Dozens of companies, including several federal contractors, publicly distanced themselves from DEI in 2025 as the second Trump administration ramped up attacks on the programs, even those the first iteration of his White House admin previously supported.

So where does DEI stand now, and do companies still care? A new survey of 2,000 employees at medium and large organizations from Catalyst and the Meltzer Center for Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging at NYU School of Law, suggests that not only are companies still committed to inclusion, but workers want it, too.

Some good news for supporters of DEI. Most (81%) respondents said that their company is committed to inclusive workplace culture, fairness in policies and practices, and diverse representation. These findings are in line with the thinking that some of the DEI backtracking has been more about public perception than anything else, HR Brew reported previously.

While DEI became a focus for companies in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, and a major talking point for conservatives after the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) Supreme Court decision and throughout the 2024 election, many organizations had been doing the work for decades.

“I think it’s really borne out of the data…organizations have had a long history of this work, and they’ve seen the benefit of it,” Emily Shaffer, senior director of research at Catalyst, told HR Brew. “So it’s hard, even though things are being challenged right now, to just throw the baby out with the bath water.”

More than half (55%) of respondents said their organization has publicly distanced itself from DEI, compared to the 34% who said they actually rolled back policies.

Workers want to see the commitment too: 74% of respondents said they’re more likely to apply for a job at companies that support inclusion efforts.

“Employees want this work. Employees value it,” Shaffer said. “Organizations need to operate within their legal bounds, but they also are beholden to their employees and what they want so I think that’s another factor that they take into consideration when this comes about, and why they’re still committed.”

Christina Joseph, project director at the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law, added that legal experts are still looking for DEI guardrails, as they recognize organizations “can’t just pull back from this, because there are real legal risks in doing that too.”

Beholden to the government. There are stark differences between how companies with and without federal contracts are approaching DEI, according to the report, likely driven by the Trump administration’s direct targeting of government contractors that have traditionally had DEI initiatives. 

Just 32% of federal contractors increased their inclusion efforts over the last year, while 52% of companies without federal contracts did the same. On the flip side 51% of federal contractors decreased their inclusion efforts, compared to 20% of other companies.

Additionally, two-thirds of federal contractors removed DEI references in both internal and external messaging, including across recruitment materials, talent development resources, and ERG content, compared to just one-third of non-federal contractor organizations.

Joseph said Trump made targeting federal contractors a big priority, even asking them to certify that they don’t have “unlawful DEI” programs.

“Federal contractors in particular, have been concerned by that, because many anticipated the False Claims Act exposure that it would create,” she said, pointing to legal threats from the Department of Justice. “It doesn’t mean that organizations don’t have avenues to fight back against it, but it does create the potential risks that if the federal administration believes that they’re operating unlawful DEI programs, that they might be a target.”

Looking ahead. Respondents said universal benefits for all groups, bias removed from recruitment, mentorship and promotion, and prioritization of those from the most marginalized communities are the top three focuses needed to create more inclusive workplaces.

“Think about years down the road, what set yourself up well for shifts that might come down the road?” Shaffer posed. “They can’t lose sight of what might happen down the road too, and how to set their organization up for success, and there’s absolutely a path forward with this work. And retreating is certainly not the only option, and it’s not the best one.”