Large US companies scale back or abandon diversity pledges
Some of America’s largest companies, from Walmart to MetaPlatform, have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, known as DEI.
A shareholder group is battling the Trump administration over its refusal to release federal data tracking diversity in the U.S. workplace.
USA TODAY exclusively obtained the federal lawsuit filed by As You So in Washington, D.C. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Labor has blocked nonprofit shareholder advocacy groups’ requests for workplace diversity data for more than two years.
The Freedom of Information Act complaint seeks to release data for 2021 and 2022. As You So says it has used the data in the past to publish reports linking workforce diversity to financial performance.
“Workforce diversity is a key business issue that investors increasingly consider in their decision-making,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You So.
Without this information, “investors will be acting blindly,” said Daniel Fougere, president and chief counsel.
USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Labor for comment.
Some diversity data for DEI enforcement
Every year, major companies submit a breakdown of their employees by race and gender in a format commonly known as an EEO-1 report. Since the 1960s, this demographic data has helped identify patterns of discrimination in the workplace and support civil rights investigations.
The Trump administration has signaled plans to halt data collection as part of its diversity, equity and inclusion reforms.
USA TODAY previously reported that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently moved to eliminate reporting requirements not only for businesses but also for unions, state and local governments, apprenticeship programs and schools.
Why President Trump wants to end EEO-1 reporting
Repealing EEO-1 data collection has been on the Republican wish list for decades. The Heritage Foundation has made it a priority in Project 2025, a comprehensive blueprint developed in anticipation of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Jonathan Berry, a veteran of the first Trump administration, told USA TODAY in 2024 that the EEO-1 report is a “reductive document” that requires employers to classify employees into racial categories even when there is no suspicion of discrimination, and encourages employers and the government alike to evaluate employees in racial terms.
“The goal here is to move towards colorblindness and recognize that we need laws and policies that treat people as full human beings who cannot be reduced to categories, especially when it comes to race,” Berry, who is now an attorney with the Department of Labor, said at the time.
Why some investors seek diversity data
Some investors are fighting back.
New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli told USA TODAY that he plans to “formally contest with the EEOC” the discontinuation of EEO-1 data collection, saying investors need this information “to make sound decisions.”
“EEO-1 reports provide investors with a clear, consistent picture of a company’s workforce and help them assess how the companies we own manage their people, address risk, and deliver long-term performance,” said DiNapoli, director of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, one of the nation’s largest public pension funds. “Transparency strengthens markets, not threatens them.”
What is EEO-1 data?
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 made employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin illegal and established the EEOC to enforce these laws. But the new federal agency lacked specific data to identify patterns of job discrimination and segregation based on race, ethnicity, and gender.
The EEOC therefore used its authority under the Civil Rights Act to require businesses with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees to complete standardized reports with specific demographic data broken down by race and gender.
Enforcement agencies such as the EEOC have relied on EEO-1 data to know where to focus their limited resources. Employers used it to identify major gaps and barriers to equal opportunity in the workforce. Some states and local governments require employers to file EEO-1 reports to comply with local reporting requirements.
Will data on workplace diversity disappear?
Until the police killing of George Floyd in 2020, the public had little access to these reports, but companies have begun voluntarily releasing more information in the face of increasing pressure from investors, employees and customers, as well as inquiries from news outlets such as USA TODAY.
The release of EEO-1 data has given Americans deeper insight into hiring and promotion patterns, including a USA TODAY analysis over the past 12 years showing that men, especially white men, hold the majority of corporate leadership roles.
Information tracking the state of diversity in America’s workplaces will not completely disappear.
States such as California and Illinois still require employers to submit workforce demographic reports. If the federal government stops collecting EEO-1 data, more states may enact similar reporting requirements. Colorado recently passed a law that will require employers to submit EEO-1 data to the state starting in July 2027.
