29 Jul 2025 From Diversity to Division: The Beginning of DEI Backlash

This article marks the beginning of a new series by SVI exploring the evolving global landscape of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) – from policy backlash and corporate retreats to global impacts.

How Did We Get Here?

The start of 2025 brought a dramatic shift in the United States’ official stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Upon returning to the White House, President Donald Trump moved swiftly to dismantle federal DEI programs and reverse prior diversity initiatives. The dismantling of federal DEI programs under the second Trump administration did not happen in a vacuum, it was the culmination of a years-long shift in American political, cultural, and public sentiment. By late 2024, support for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace had visibly weakened. According to a Pew Research survey featured by Statista, public approval of DEI initiatives among all U.S. adults employed at a company with 10 or more people dropped from 56% to 52% between 2023 and 2024.[1] Among Republican-leaning workers, the change was more dramatic: support for DEI fell from 30% to 27%, while disapproval surged from 30% to 42%. Even within Democratic ranks, minor declines in support suggested that fatigue, skepticism, or strategic concerns were beginning to surface.

Figure 1. Public opinion on DEI in the U.S. by political affiliation (2023–2024). Source: Statista (2024)

These shifting attitudes laid the groundwork for political responses at the state and federal levels, most notably through new legislation seeking to redefine or dismantle DEI mandates.

This cultural undercurrent was mirrored in legislative action. As documented by ABC News, almost half of U.S. states introduced or passed anti-DEI laws aimed at eliminating diversity requirements in public institutions, state universities, and government contracting[2]. The map of DEI rollbacks has expanded rapidly: with bills passed into law in states such as Texas and Utah, while in others like Florida, legislation such as HB 999[3] was introduced in 2023 but did not pass until later developments in 2025. Meanwhile, in states like Georgia and Mississippi, proposed anti-DEI legislation was defeated, indicating local resistance to the national trend.

Figure 2. U.S. state-level activity on anti-DEI legislation as of May 2024. Source: ABC News (2024)

These legal and cultural signals created fertile ground for a federal-level intervention. In many ways, Trump’s 2025 executive orders can be seen as a calculated response to these state-level trends and voter sentiments.

U.S. Federal Policy: DEI as a Pillar Under Threat

On his first day in the office (January 20, 2025), Trump signed an executive order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” which directed all federal agencies to terminate their DEI offices, plans, and roles within 60 days[4]. Chief Diversity Officer positions and “equity action plans” were eliminated across government, as the administration sought to “restore merit-based” practices. Another broad order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” issued the following day, went even further: it revoked Executive Order 11246, a landmark rule issued in 1965 to enforce federal contractors to undertake affirmative action in hiring[5]. Executive Order 11246, originally issued in 1965, mandated that companies receiving federal contracts must not only avoid discriminatory hiring practices but also implement proactive steps to increase the representation of historically underrepresented groups. This included establishing internal hiring benchmarks for women and minorities, maintaining affirmative action plans, and regularly reporting workforce composition to the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The rule was a key legal basis for modern affirmative action enforcement in the private sector. In practical terms, Trump’s order told the Labor Department’s OFCCP to cease promoting “diversity” or holding contractors to any race- or gender-based hiring goals. Federal contractors now must certify they do not run any DEI programs that could be deemed to violate U.S. anti-discrimination laws. These moves effectively removed affirmative action obligations for companies doing business with the government, under the banner of enforcing a “colorblind” meritocracy.

Figure 3. Recent DEI policy dismantling timeline

Critics argue that these measures reflect a broader political project to roll back decades of progress on civil rights and inclusion – targeting not only DEI but also related initiatives like ESG and gender-inclusive policies. The Trump administration defends its stance by claiming DEI programs themselves were “illegal preferences and discrimination” that undermined merit[6]. Trump’s inaugural address in 2025 emphasized forging a “colorblind society” and purging “radical gender ideology” from federal institutions1. To that end, a separate order mandated removal of all references to concepts like gender identity from federal communications1. President Trump has even publicly suggested that the Department of Justice could investigate corporate DEI efforts as a form of systematic discrimination[7].

This hostile federal climate quickly sent shockwaves through the private sector. Government agencies immediately complied (for example, NASA shut down its internal DEI programs and scrubbed related language from websites)[8]. But beyond federal offices, companies across the country began reassessing and rolling back their own diversity initiatives. As one report noted, the government’s actions “caused a ripple-down effect” in corporate America5. A growing number of businesses – from tech giants to manufacturers – started paring back hiring targets, diversity offices, and public commitments to inclusion in response to the changing political winds.

[1] Statista: Americans Divided in Their Views of DEI Initiatives. Based on Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2024: https://www.statista.com/chart/33822/public-opinion-on-dei-programs-in-the-united-states/

[2] ABC News: Map Shows Growing Impact of Anti-DEI Legislation Across the US: https://abcnews.go.com/US/map-impact-anti-dei-legislation/story?id=108795967

[3] Florida House Bill 999 (HB 999) was introduced in 2023 and sought to eliminate funding for DEI initiatives at public colleges and universities. The bill aimed to prohibit DEI programs, ban critical race theory in curricula, and increase state control over academic hiring. Though it drew national attention, it was delayed and modified over time before aspects of its agenda were adopted through subsequent legislative and executive actions in 2025.

[4] Euronews: U.S. demands that EU companies comply with anti-diversity executive order: https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/03/31/us-demands-that-eu-companies-comply-with-anti-diversity-order

[5] Jackson Lewis: Trump rescinds Executive Order 11246, ending federal contractor affirmative action obligations: https://www.governmentcontractorcomplianceupdate.com/2025/01/22/breaking-president-trump-rescinds-executive-order-11246/

[6] Covington: European companies face pressure from U.S. anti-DEI executive order: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2025/04/european-companies-wrestle-with-u-s-governments-anti-dei-push/

[7] Reuters: Apple investors reject proposal to dismantle DEI programs: https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-investors-reject-proposal-against-dei-policies-2025-02-25/

[8] TechTarget: Companies rolling back DEI policies in 2025: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/What-companies-are-rolling-back-DEI-policies