Corporate America Retreats From DEI as Political Pressure Mounts

More than 200 S&P 500 companies removed terms such as “diversity” and “equity” from their 2025 annual reports, according to new data from law firm and data provider Freshfields. According to Yahoo Finance, the firm also found nearly 60% fewer companies are using the phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion” compared to previous years.

The changes reflect a broader corporate pullback from DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives amid growing political scrutiny. On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order dismantling federal DEI programs and directing agencies to investigate private-sector DEI policies.

Major companies including Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), McDonald’s (MCD), Amazon (AMZN), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Target (TGT), and Tractor Supply (TSCO) have publicly shifted their DEI strategies. Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton told Yahoo Finance last month the company wanted to "remove" itself from discussions perceived as political or socially driven.

Many firms are also adjusting the language in their reports, favoring terms like “inclusion,” “belonging,” and “meritocratic workplace” over “diversity” and “equity.”

Bank of America (BAC) eliminated all eight mentions of “diversity and inclusion” from its 2025 report, replacing some with “opportunity.” It also renamed its internal D&I group the “opportunity and inclusion group.” BlackRock (BLK) removed four mentions of “diversity,” rebranding one section as “connectivity and inclusivity.”

JPMorgan Chase similarly removed most DEI language and rebranded its efforts as “opportunity” initiatives.

Despite these shifts, shareholder support for DEI-related proposals has been minimal in 2025. None of the season’s DEI-focused shareholder resolutions received majority approval. Only 2% of shareholders backed anti-DEI proposals, while support for pro-DEI measures peaked at 43.9%, according to Freshfields.

Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, called this year’s DEI shareholder votes “triumphant,” citing the rejection of anti-DEI measures at firms like Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), and Goldman Sachs (GS).

Behar noted that softer DEI language may help companies avoid scrutiny, but uncertainty remains—particularly for federal contractors—following recent Supreme Court and SEC decisions that limit nationwide injunctions and ease exclusion of social proposals from ballots.

“As of Friday, now ... nobody knows what to do,” Behar said.