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.

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