Sticking with DEI Pays Off as Reputation Scores Rise in 2025 Poll

Companies that upheld their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments saw stronger reputational performance in 2025, according to the latest Axios Harris Poll 100.

Amid a broader decline in public perception, companies that stayed the course on DEI reported an average 1.5-point increase in their reputation scores. In contrast, the overall average among all 100 ranked companies fell by 2.34 points.

The findings suggest that wavering corporate values — including a wave of DEI pullbacks — may be contributing to reputational damage. Legal and political pressures have prompted several corporations to scale back or revise their DEI strategies, especially following renewed criticism from the Trump-aligned political sphere.

Despite the trend, a recent Pew Research study found that a narrow majority of U.S. workers still view increased DEI efforts positively.

Reputation rankings in the poll are based on seven dimensions: trust, culture, ethics, citizenship, vision, growth, and products and services. Companies that performed well in these areas often aligned with consistent DEI practices.

Patagonia and Costco ranked in the top three for character, culture and citizenship. Microsoft saw one of the biggest year-over-year gains and received "excellent" ratings across trust, culture and vision.

In contrast, many companies that scaled back DEI efforts suffered significant declines. AB InBev, which received "poor" ratings in ethics, citizenship and character, has lost more than 10 points since 2021. Disney and Target also saw drops of 7 and 5 points, respectively, and now rank in the bottom quartile for ethics.

An exception was Google, which adjusted its DEI approach but gained 2.3 points overall — buoyed by strong marks in products, vision and growth.

The data suggests that companies maintaining clear values around inclusion may benefit both in public trust and long-term brand equity.