Despite recent anti-DEI lawsuits and program rollbacks, many company leaders still plan to invest in DEI. But right now, some commitments are on pause.
Business leaders are bullish on the future of DEI. But the present? That’s a more complicated story.
Nearly three in four U.S. C-suite and HR leaders with a DEI program in place “plan to increase their commitment to DEI within the next two years,” according to a new survey from New York City-based executive search firm Bridge Partners. The overall survey included leaders at companies with “at least 250 employees or at least $25 million in revenue” and comprised responses from 300 HR leaders and 100 C-suite leaders.
Notably, in the last “Inclusion Barometer” from Bridge Partners, gathered in July and August of 2023, approximatelythe same share of business leaders confirmed their companies’ plans for DEI programs over the next two to three years. Since then, there have been numerous anti-DEI lawsuits waged against companies, rollbacks of DEI programs, and cuts to DEI teams–so this latest statistic could be a sign of resilience.
But a closer look reveals some not-so-positive findings, says Tory Clarke, co-founder and partner at Bridge Partners. Last year, just about 2 percent of companies with a DEI program in place said they would cut back on their DEI initiatives. This year, about 3 percent said they would, and a small percentage–0.6 percent–said they would “completely eliminate it.”
Additionally, when asked if their organization had increased its DEI investment in the past year, 66 percent said they had–an 11-point drop from last year. Those leaders who said DEI is “more important today than five years ago” dropped nine points from 2023.
In their own network at Bridge Partners, Clarke says she’s seeing leaders “going underground” with their DEI initiatives. C-suite executives seem to be particularly skittish: One in four are “not onboard with DEI,” according to the survey’s results. “That is a really, really worrying statistic,” Clarke says. “That is a reflection of organizations sort of running scared from politicizing this work.” Surveyed C-suite leaders were also more likely to say that the election and the current political climate are impacting organizations’ commitment to DEI–56 percent compared with 45 percent of HR leaders.
And yet, 94 percent of surveyed leaders say DEI has a “positive impact on recruiting, hiring, and retention,” 74 percent say it leads to “reputational improvements” with customers and the public, and 68 percent say it “fosters innovation and creativity.”
For Clarke, it’s a positive indication of the future for company DEI initiatives, despite current pressures: “The business case remains, and the intent remains, and we have a generation coming through for whom this conversation is going to be a given,” she says.