Is the outrage around the axing of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives overblown? The answer depends on who is asked, according to Morning Consult researchers.
A cross-section of gender, race, political party and age showed a few trends, from perception around DEI rollbacks to tangible sentiment in favor of or against those employer measures.
But overall, “corporate decisions to limit DEI efforts aren’t reaching the general public en masse,” the researchers said. In general, just 38% of respondents said they had heard, read or seen something about this shifting landscape of DEI, per the Aug. 19 report.
That is to say — despite the decisions of Tractor Supply, John Deere, Google, Meta and Zoom, and recently Harley-Davidson being top of mind for CFOs, CPOs and CHROs — data suggests 62% of U.S. adults have not heard about these corporate moves.
Who has heard about DEI rollbacks?
Naturally, talent professionals and DEI personnel have been at the heart of this conversation.
Turnover for DEI professionals is rampant due to both the stressful nature of the job and department cuts, an economist previously told HR Dive. It’s a matter of “internal politics [and] external politics.”
Outside of HR’s office, men and Republicans are most likely to have heard about DEI initiative changes.
Morning Consult researchers attributed this to these groups’ tendency to watch “right-leaning voices and outlets, like Tucker Carlson and Fox News.”
Additionally, researchers said, more men tend to use X. Not only has anti-DEI sentiment proliferated on X, but Elon Musk, the face of the company and its owner, often talks negatively about DEI, Morning Consult noted.
Who supports DEI rollbacks?
Notably, a larger share of Republicans and men said they supported companies decreasing the influence of DEI programs or ending DEI programs entirely.
Generationally, baby boomers and Gen Xers tended to favor decreasing the influence DEI in business, compared to Gen Zers. Black adults were also among the least likely to favor decreasing DEI’s influence.
While people across gender, age and political party said they felt like DEI was important to the success of a business, researchers did not have a conclusive take on the long-term effects of DEI rollbacks on employer branding. “Brands that have walked back on existing DEI commitments have yet to face any major consumer reactions — bad or good,” they said.
Only about 1 in 5 respondents said they boycotted a company because it walked back DEI commitments; a similar number said they intentionally bought products from a brand because of its ethical or social stances.
Despite risks tied to DEI rollbacks being “minimal,” researchers said, employers may end up “sacrificing long-term favorability among the general public to bend toward the short-term demands of a smaller few.”
