Hundreds of US companies have removed references to “diversity, equity and inclusion” from their annual report in a quick drawback from the corporate values that were targeted by President Donald Trump’s administration.
More than 200 largest corporate groups in America have culled references to related terms such as DEI and “diversity,” according to company applications analyzed by Factset data and Financial Times.
Of the top 400 companies on the S&P 500 index, 90% of companies filing their annual reports have thrown the term out completely since Trump’s election cut at least mentions to DEI.
Numbers relating to only the annual report covering the financial year of companies that have ended since the election highlight the speed and scale of Trump’s crusades’ impact on what he described as an “illegal and immoral discrimination program.”
Additionally, many companies either did not include statistics that break down the workforce by race or dropped references to internal affinity groups such as DEI initiative awards and networks of black professionals.
Individual data from recruitment websites actually show that while US job postings, including DEI-related titles, have been in halved since their peak in mid-2022, some companies have abolished their diversity programs.
The number of companies that choose not to refer to individual components such as DEI or its diversity is far greater than those that publicly announced changes to workplace policies or value.
MasterCard, Salesforce, S&P Global, Palantir and American Express are among the companies that changed the language they used for diversity between their annual submissions issued in 2024 and 2025.
Instead, many companies emphasize “inclusion” or “attribution” and say they want a culture where “all employees” flourish.
In a statement to FT, Salesforce said it remains committed to “the long-standing core value of equality.” Other companies either did not respond to requests for comment or declined to comment.
Analysis of the company’s applications shows that the president’s attack on the DEI has prompted a broad setback by companies from rushing to publicly discussing diversity and inclusion initiatives to assess whether companies will cancel or change their programs.
Within days of taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order banning “discrimination” by federal agencies, demanding federal contractors be proven that he does not operate an inclusion program that violates the federal anti-discrimination law.
The order did not clearly define which types of policies the administration considers as illegal, and made its companies evaluate how they comply. Deloitte told staff in the U.S. Government Consulting, for example, to remove gender pronouns from email signatures.
Executives consider their supplier diversity initiatives and programs to be open only to certain groups, such as women’s mentoring schemes, that take the highest risk.
Trump also directed federal agencies to identify “potential civil compliance investigations” of publicly traded businesses and other organizations as part of a plan to block DEI programs that constitute “illegal discrimination or preferences.”
Emerson said this has created a “serene effect” across the company and spends a lot of time trying to interpret the government’s plans.
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Luke Haltig, president of Consulting Gravity Research, who advises businesses on reputation concerns, said the threat of investigating the DEI initiative has caused “severe anxiety” to executives and is “a “night’s concern.”
Even before Trump was selected, FT analysis showed that at least 20 S&P 500 companies had already removed some DEI-related terms in their annual applications issued between 2021 and 2024.
The latest annual submission issued last month included a section called “Strengths of the Workforce and People’s Processes.” Previous annual reports used a variety of headlines, such as “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” and “Diversity and Inclusive Workplace.”
Right-wing campaigners have pressured businesses to halt their diversity programs, with Walmart and Harley-Davidson, the activists targeted last year.
Progressives also criticize several DEI initiatives to promote diversity on the surface without significantly improving equality or representation in underprivileged groups.
However, proponents say the program will help improve opportunities and career progress for historically underrepresented groups, whilst boosting business performance.
While many companies have culled references to DEI, some have added languages to highlight merit-based employment. These include Morgan Stanley, whose recent annual filings announced last month state: “It’s at the heart of Morgan Stanley’s talent development.”
Some companies continue to pursue diversity and equity initiatives despite opposition like Costco, which shareholders have recently voted overwhelmingly to continue their company’s policies.
Chuck Robbins, CEO of Telecommunications Group Cisco and chairman of the influential business roundtable of US corporate leaders, also solidly defended his company’s DEI initiative in January, but the group removed the “diversity” reference in its latest quarterly submission in February.
“We can’t discuss the fact that a diverse workforce is superior,” he told Axios in January. “There’s too much business value.”
Additional data visualization by Jana Tauschinski and reporting by Chris Cook
