Corporate DEI Rollbacks Lose Steam Despite Political Pressure, Study Finds

The wave of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) rollbacks at major U.S. corporations is slowing, despite heightened political pressure and public scrutiny, according to a new report from Gravity Research.

According to POCIT, the report comes in the wake of a sweeping executive order signed Jan. 20 by President Donald Trump, which ended all federal DEI initiatives. The directive sparked a rapid response across corporate America, with companies such as Meta, Google, JPMorgan Chase and Target scaling back or altering their internal DEI programs.

However, the study shows that while the early response was swift and widespread, the pace of DEI reversals has since tapered off.

“Most of the movement came immediately after the executive order,” said Joanna Piacenza, vice president of thought leadership at Gravity Research, which advises companies on social and political risk. “But that momentum has not sustained.”

From June 2024 to May 2025, 80% of DEI-related policy changes among Fortune 1000 companies and major sports leagues occurred after Trump took office, the report found. Of those, 41% of companies directly cited the administration’s executive actions as the primary driver.

Despite the initial flurry of changes, the report notes that corporations are not fully abandoning DEI efforts. About 80% of companies maintained commitments to principles such as “inclusion,” “belonging” and “accessibility.” Instead of dismantling DEI programs, many are rebranding them.

Common changes included shifting terminology—dropping “DEI” in favor of softer language like “inclusion and belonging”—and renaming roles. Titles such as chief diversity officer have been replaced with “vice president of talent strategy” or “head of people engagement.”

Nearly half of companies making changes (48%) have revised or eliminated hiring diversity goals.

At the same time, corporations face rising pressure from pro-DEI advocates, including organized boycotts against companies perceived as rolling back their diversity commitments.

The findings suggest that while political pressure has reshaped how companies approach DEI, it has not eliminated the core goals entirely.

“Companies are being more cautious,” Piacenza said. “But the commitment to inclusion remains strong—even if it looks different than it did a year ago.”