Trump slashed DEI. Now it's making a surprising bipartisan comeback - USA Today

Political pressure during the Trump era forced corporate America to put its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on ice.

Now, in a surprising turn, growing rank-and-file buy-in is driving a quiet thaw across party lines, with even Republican employees expressing approval for such workplace programs.

This unexpected bipartisan support for DEI emerged in the latest Bentley University-Gallup Business in Society survey provided exclusively to USA TODAY. Though views remain deeply polarized, workers across the ideological spectrum are growing more positive about the workplace benefits of diversity programs.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Americans believe promoting DEI should be a priority for businesses. What's more, public faith in the bottom-line benefits of diversity is climbing as more Americans link diverse workforces to increased profitability and innovation than at any point in the past two years.

The findings defy expectations in today's political climate and even surprised researchers.

President Donald Trump took office pledging to eliminate "woke" Biden-era policies that he argues elevate race and gender above merit. The administration's crackdown has sent shockwaves through the corporate world.

Fearing federal investigations and lost government contracts, major U.S. companies rushed to dismantle their diversity initiatives. In the latest sign of escalating enforcement, the Justice Department announced this week that Accenture will pay $25 million to resolve allegations that its employment practices violated federal anti-discrimination rules.

Yet three-quarters of the Bentley University-Gallup survey respondents said businesses with diverse workforces make more innovative products, up from 64% in 2025. Seventy-one percent of Americans say it is somewhat or completely true that businesses with diverse workforces are more profitable, up from 61% in 2025.

The survey highlights the enduring partisan divide over DEI, though the ideological gap has noticeably narrowed, according to Cynthia Clark, a member of the Bentley-Gallup survey's research team.

Nearly all Democrats (95%) consider promoting DEI a key business priority with 71% of independents in agreement, though far fewer Republicans held the same view (37%).

Among Democrats, 92% say businesses with diverse workforces are more profitable, up from 85% in 2025. The percentage also rose 11 points among independents (70%) and Republicans (41%).

The survey found widespread agreement that workforce diversity fuels product innovation, supported by 94% of Democrats, 75% of Independents and nearly half of Republicans. Those figures are up six, 12 and 11 points, respectively, from 2025.

A double-digit surge in support across party lines points to a growing rift between rank-and-file workers and corporate leaders pulling back from DEI, said Clark, a Bentley University management professor.

“This should be a signal to managers to look internally to their employees for what works at their firm rather than following the political flavor of the moment,” she said.

Despite softening resistance, skepticism persists among Republicans. Over half say it is somewhat or completely untrue that businesses with diverse workforces are more profitable (59%) or that they make more innovative products (54%).

The findings also expose a gap between what Americans expect from businesses and what those companies actually deliver, according to Clark. 

Only a third of Americans rate corporate DEI performance as good or excellent, reflecting a dissatisfaction that also split along party lines.

While half of Republicans gave companies high marks, that approval dropped to roughly a third among independents and just a quarter among Democrats.