A new Economist/YouGov poll found 45% in favor of ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs (DEI) in school and government with 40% opposed. There were deep gender, racial, and partisan differences. Among age groups, only the youngest one opposed ending the programs, by a narrow 39% to 37%. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found a similar 44% in favor of closing all federal government DEI offices and firing federal employees working on the issue, with 51% opposed.
An article in Morning Consult last week argued that DEI support is “high and stable”. The November Morning Consult survey question they referenced asked whether companies should speak out on the issue, with 67% support in December last year. Their overtime data showed predictable partisan divisions with strong Democratic support and Republican opposition. In another question, 30% said DEI programs were very important to the success of most businesses, and another 30% said they were somewhat important.
These questions tap into different ways of thinking about DEI and support or opposition to Donald Trump’s plans to demolish the programs. The Morning Consult question is about whether companies should take a stand, not about the programs themselves. The Economist/YouGov and Reuters/Ipsos polls ask about a recent initiative. But what do Americans think about the programs themselves?
Most polls ask whether people think an inclusive workplace is a good thing, and it is hardly surprising that most people say it is. In a 2023 Pew Research Center question, 56% said “focusing on increasing diversity, equity and inclusion at work” is mainly a good thing and 16% a bad thing. Pew defined DEI as “efforts by some employers to hire employees of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, genders, age groups, sexual orientations, etc. and to promote equity in the workplace.”
Another question asked people about their own workplaces. A solid majority, 54%, said their workplace was giving DEI the right amount of attention. Only 14% said that their workplace was not paying enough attention and 15% too much. Thirty-two percent said it was extremely or very important for their workplace to have a mix of races and ethnicities, 28% an equal mix of men and women, 26% a mix of different ages, and 18% a mix of different sexual orientations. In another question, a quarter said their workplace was doing not too well or not at all well on the equal mix of men and women, but fewer than 20% gave that response about the other categories. These responses hardly suggest a big problem at people’s workplaces.
In 2024, Pew found a slight dip in the percentage saying DEI was a good thing (from 56% to 52%) and a slight rise in the number saying it was a bad thing (16% to 21%). They also found that slightly more people than in their 2023 poll said their workplace was paying too much attention to the issue (19% in 2024, 14% in 2023).
As informative as these polls are, they miss something important. How does DEI fit into workers’ priorities or satisfaction with their jobs? JUST Capital has asked about workplace priorities since 2015. Many of the issues they examine are popular with employed people, so they do a statistical exercise to determine relative importance. In their 2024 polling “an inclusive workplace” ranked 12th of 17 possible workplace concerns. At the top were paying a fair wage, acting ethically, communicating transparently, benefits, and work-life balance.
Gallup and Bentley University ask people what they would want in a new job. Most important were a company that provides high-quality health benefits, followed by one that has a nice workplace culture, and one that offers flexible work arrangements. A company that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion ranked last at 9th place. The authors of the report noted that “The importance of promoting DEI has slipped every year since 2022.”
Traditional concerns like improving pay and benefits and flexibility remain more important to workers than expanding DEI initiatives. And the data suggest most people see their workplaces as pretty successful in this area already. Progressives, and many in the polling community, appear to believe that workplaces should promote the societal benefits of DEI programs. But they are not at the top of what workers want.
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