Major Companies That Have Scaled Back Diversity Programs

Several 2025 surveys indicate that more than 200 Fortune 500 companies reference diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) less often in their annual reports than they did two years earlier. Once a visible marker of corporate values and a competitive differentiator, DEI increasingly appears to many firms as a legal and reputational risk. New laws, executive orders, and online backlash have prompted companies across industries to reframe—or retreat from—their public DEI commitments.

IBM

IBM, long regarded as a pioneer in corporate diversity programs, has scaled back visible DEI commitments. The company no longer links executive compensation to diversity hiring targets and has shifted emphasis toward partnerships with small and veteran-owned businesses. For an organization that once highlighted inclusion metrics as a point of pride, this pivot represents a notable change in emphasis and public messaging.

Gannett

The country’s largest newspaper chain removed DEI references from its website and stopped publishing previously available diversity data. Company officials describe the move as a compliance response to changing regulations; critics and industry observers interpret it as a retreat and a risk-management decision. Regardless of motive, the shift is striking for a publisher that once foregrounded inclusion in its corporate identity.

Constellation Brands

The maker of Corona and Modelo replaced its DEI department with an “inclusive culture” team and reframed supplier goals to prioritize small businesses. It also stopped participating in external LGBTQ+ benchmarking surveys. These changes read as a strategic rebrand that reduces explicit DEI markers; however, with younger consumers driving long-term growth in many beverage categories, the company may face both reputational and market risks from scaling back explicit inclusion efforts.

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group says it has removed dedicated diversity web pages and now uses broader “belonging” language in its public materials to align with legal guidance. The move is noteworthy in healthcare, where diverse provider workforces have been linked with better patient satisfaction and outcomes. Reducing public DEI detail may reflect legal caution, but it also raises questions about how measurable equity initiatives will be tracked and sustained.

Victoria’s Secret

Once committed to reshaping beauty standards and broadening representation, Victoria’s Secret has scaled back explicit diversity goals. The company has paused initiatives aimed at increasing Black workforce representation and is reassessing supplier diversity commitments. For a brand that rebuilt itself around reinvention and inclusion, this retrenchment signals a reordering of strategic priorities.

Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs eliminated its requirement that companies pursuing initial public offerings include at least two diverse board members and removed explicit DEI language from some filings. The Nasdaq rule that inspired that policy was overturned in court, and Goldman’s change reflects a broader reversion to minimum legal compliance rather than proactive diversity guidelines in deal underwriting and public markets engagement.

Paramount

Paramount ended race- and gender-based hiring targets and removed DEI references from its public materials. The entertainment industry has seen widespread cuts: reports show nearly half of major companies reduced DEI staff or budgets in 2024. As a result, inclusion initiatives that were once promoted as competitive advantages are increasingly treated as potential liabilities in a shifting regulatory and public-relations environment.

Bank of America

Language matters in corporate strategy. Bank of America has removed diversity hiring targets and shifted terminology from explicit “diversity” references to broader terms like “talent” and “opportunity” in its official materials. That semantic change signals a shift in priorities; when a major institution known for vocal DEI advocacy alters its public language, analysts see it as part of a wider reorientation across the corporate sector.

Disney

Disney has taken steps including shutting down its “Reimagine Tomorrow” site, removing some content warnings, and refocusing internal metrics under a “Talent Strategy” umbrella. The company maintains that its core values remain unchanged, but ongoing regulatory scrutiny—such as an FCC review of prior DEI practices—appears to have prompted a more cautious public posture focused on regulatory compliance rather than social leadership.

Walmart

Walmart has rolled back several initiatives, including its Racial Equity Action and Change programs, removed DEI language from corporate materials, and reduced the prominence of LGBTQ-themed products and campaigns. This marks a departure from the company’s 2020 pledge to invest $100 million in racial equity. The shift appears to have had measurable effects: foot traffic and store visits have declined compared with the previous year, suggesting potential commercial consequences from deprioritizing visible inclusion efforts.

Across sectors, these changes reflect a broader corporate recalibration: many firms are prioritizing legal compliance and reputational risk management over overt DEI statements and targets. Whether these shifts will be temporary responses to regulatory pressure or represent a lasting transformation in how companies define and pursue inclusion remains an open question. For stakeholders—employees, customers, investors, and communities—careful attention to how companies track outcomes and sustain equitable practices will determine whether the retreat from explicit DEI language translates into reduced progress on workplace and marketplace equity.