‘DEI’ as a dirty word: Companies are saying a lot less about diversity and equity in public filings

Words words “diversity,” “racial,” and “gender” didn't fare so well either

Morsa Images—Getty ImagesGood morning! The DEI as a dirty word trend continues

A new report from The Conference Board shows a sharp decline in usage of the words “diversity,” “racial,” “gender,” or “DEI” in corporate filings of the largest U.S. public companies

And use of “DEI” declined 68% from 2024 to 2025 in the major filings of S&P 500 companies, according to the report

It’s not surprising at a time when many large companies have announced rollbacks of their DEI grams in response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders

Even if some companies are continuing their diversity and equity efforts, they’re less ly to trumpet that on their 10-K form, said Ani Huang, senior executive vice president of the HR Policy Association, a nonfit public policy organization. “If in the current environment, it’s something that could actually wind up harming the company or putting a target on their back or triggering political consequences that are not in line with what the actual goal is, they just won’t use that disclosure,” she explained

Reports of workforce demographic data, which many U.S. public companies have voluntarily disclosed in recent years, have also fallen

Board diversity disclosure fared similarly

Companies choosing to disclose the gender of individual board directors declined by 22%, while those disclosing the race or ethnicity of individual board directors declined by 20%, according to the report

But Huang says that just because companies are no longer disclosing diversity data doesn’t mean they’ve decided to abandon DEI goals entirely. “I think that companies remain focused on building these inclusive, high-performing workplaces,” she said. “It has nothing to do with

It’s how they find and keep the best talent, and they’re going to continue to do that

They’re focused on meritocracy.” But, she adds, “In today’s environment, we’ve just found the most effective way to continue this work on a legal basis is by doing it quietly.” Kristin StollerEditorial Director, Fortune Mediakristin.stoller@fortune.comAround the TableA round-up of the most important HR headlines.Mothers of young children are leaving the workforce in droves, thanks to return-to-office mandates and federal layoffs

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