Hundreds of US companies have removed references to “diversity, equality and involvement” from their annual reports in rapid withdrawal from corporate values that have become the target of President Donald Trump’s administration.
More than 200 largest American corporate groups have abolished the mention of Dei and related expressions such as “diversity”, according to FactSet’s data reports analyzed by the Financial Times.
Of the first 400 companies in the S&P 500 index, 90 percent of those who submitted an annual report because Trump’s elections reduced at least some references to Dei, and many completely rejected the term.
The data, which relate only to the annual reports that cover the financial years of the companies that have ended from the election, emphasize the speed and proportions of the influence of Trump’s crusade on what he described as “illegal and immoral programs of discrimination.”
In addition, many companies no longer include statistics that raise races growing or rejected references to dei initiatives or internal affinity groups, such as black professional networks.
Separate data from the Employment Website really show that US job posts with Dei titles are halved by the top of the mid -2022, while some companies have abolished diversity programs.
The number of companies that have decided not to relate to Dei or its individual components such as diversity, in their latest annual reports, far outweigh those who have publicly announced changes in their policies or values in the workplace.
Mastercard, Salesforce, S&P Global, Palantir and American Express are among companies that have changed the language they used about the diversity between the annual applications published in 2024 and 2025.
Instead, many companies have emphasized “involvement” or “affiliation”, saying that they want a culture in which “all employees” succeed.
In a FT statement, Salesforce said he remained dedicated to his “long-standing fundamental value of equality.” Other companies did not respond to comment requests or refused to comment.
The company’s application analysis shows that the presidential attacks on Dei have encouraged a widely withdrawal companies that have publicly discussed their diversity and initiatives for involvement, as the executives are rushing to evaluate whether to cancel or change programs.
A few days after he assumed his post in January, Trump signed the executive commands for banning Dei “discrimination” in federal agencies and demanding from a federal government contractor to confirm that they do not manage programs of involvement that violate the Federal Antodiscrimination Laws.
The orders did not clearly define what types of policies consider to be illegal, leaving companies to evaluate how to adhere to. Deloitte said staff Remove gender pronouns For example, from their signatures E -State.
The executives look at the initiatives for the diversity of suppliers and programs that are open only for certain groups, such as the women’s mentoring schemes, such as the transfer of the highest risk, said Joelle Emerson, the Paradigm Executive Director, the software and consulting groups advising the culture and involvement companies.
Trump also instructed the federal agencies to identify “potential citizens’ harmonization investigations” in public commercial companies and other organizations as part of the Dei Program Plan that represents “illegal discrimination or inclination”.
Emerson said it created a “cold effect” throughout the corporate America, and the companies spent so much time trying to interpret government plans “that they stopped doing things that are in their best interest and that are perfectly legally for fear.”
Luke Hartig, President of the Gravity Research Counseling, who advises companies on reputational problems, said that the threat of investigations into the Dei initiative causes executives “serious anxiety” and that their “number one” concern “.
Even before Trump was elected, at least 20 companies at the S&P 500 had already removed some conditions associated with Dei in annual applications published between 2021 and 2024, according to FT analysis.
In his latest annual application, published last month, the target included the section at the helm: “The power of our workforce and the process of people”. Previous annual reports used different titles such as “diversity, equality and involvement” or “diverse and inclusive job”.
Right -wing The campaign pressured the companies to stop diversity programs, and Walmart and Harley-Davidson were targeting activists last year.
Advancers have also criticized some dei initiatives for superficial promotion of diversity without significant improvement of equality or presentation of groups in an adverse position.
However, advocates say programs help improve their career opportunities and progress for historically under -represented groups, at the same time increasing business performance.
While many companies rejected references to Dei, some added a language to employment stress based on merit. They include Morgan Stanley, whose latest annual application, published last month, says: “Meritocracy is at the heart of talent Morgan Stanley’s talent.”
Some companies continued to follow the initiatives for diversity and capital despite oppositionsuch as Costco, whose shareholders have recently predominantly voted to continue the company’s policies.
Chuck Robbins, Executive Director of the Cisco Telecommunication Group and the Chairman of the influential business round table of US corporate leaders, also made a decisive defense of the Dei company in January, although the group lowered the reference to the “diversity” in its last quarterly submission of the application.
“You can’t argue with the fact that a variety of labor is better,” Axios said in January. “There’s too much business values.”
Additional Data Visualization Jana Tauschinski and Chris Cook reporting
