Top Organizations Making DE&I Decisions Based on Data, Not Pressure

A new survey by the Institute for Corporate Productivity (i4cp) found that high-performance organizations are 1.5x more likely than their lower-performing counterparts to leverage data—rather than outside pressure—to make decisions regarding their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) work.

Analysis also found that reliance on data to make DE&I decisions is a practice strongly correlated with better market performance for organizations.   

The survey, which gathered responses from 636 HR, DE&I, and business professionals during the last week of February 2025, found that in contrast to headline-grabbing rhetoric, 81% of those representing larger organizations (employing >1,000 people) reported that most of their employees view their organization’s commitment to DE&I favorably.

In addition, the survey found that those from high-performance organizations—characterized by superior performance in revenue growth, profitability, market share, and customer satisfaction over a multi-year period—were much more likely to report:

• (81%) DE&I has made a measurable and demonstrable positive impact on their organization's bottom line;
• (70%) any changes to their organization’s DE&I work will be data driven;
• (68%) they are not altering their commitments to DE&I in response to outside pressure; 
• (54%) and they are currently rethinking their DE&I strategy.

The executive order disruption factor

The survey found that President Trump’s executive orders regarding DE&I have had marked disruptive effects on workplace culture; 67% of respondents said that they’ve seen a decrease in employee well-being in their organizations since the EOs were signed on Trump’s first day in office.

Other reported decreases:

• Employee engagement (50%)
• Trust in senior leadership (38%)
• Productivity (36%)
• Clarity on the company’s mission (32%)

And a quarter (25%) reported increases in internal conflict and negative team dynamics in their companies since the executive orders were signed. While it’s too soon to quantify the full effect and implications of the current disruption, this is concerning.

Along with data, critical thinking should play a key role in discussions and decision-making related to DE&I. This is especially important when sifting through headlines, LinkedIn posts, and other social media platforms.

While some organizations may seem to preemptively bow to pressure brought by the Trump administration’s demands that various federal agencies investigate the DE&I programs of private companies, it’s clear that some of these decisions are about protecting organizations and their workforces rather than disavowing the value of inclusion.

One case in point is Paramount's recent changes to DE&I and the subtleties in their messaging about it.

Who is telling your story?

Paramount’s statement about changes to its DE&I programs says that it “will no longer set or use aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex or gender of hires,” and has ended demographic data collection for its U.S. job applicants on forms and career pages, except in the markets where it’s legally required to do so.

But in the same memo, Paramount’s three co-CEOs said:

“To be the best storytellers and to continue to drive success, we must have a highly talented, dedicated, and creative workforce that reflects the perspectives and experiences of our many different audiences. Values like inclusivity and collaboration are a part of the Paramount culture and will continue to be.”

This sort of finessed messaging may be reassuring to employees, customers, and potential candidates. And it’s vastly better than no communication at all.

While the ambiguity of the executive orders (what is the definition of “illegal DEI”?) has understandably left organizations in a quandary about what is or is not prudent, choosing to say nothing about DE&I leaves a void that can quickly be filled by misunderstanding, misinformation, or worse.

Our recent survey found that most organizations are simply not communicating with their employees or customers about what they are doing or where they stand regarding DE&I; obviously, this is a risky predicament that risks alienating both.

As i4cp has observed over the years, some organizations choose silence during difficult times, but this tactic rarely goes well. Leaving things open to interpretation is as hazardous as making fear-driven decisions.

And those organizations that have been quick to abandon DE&I work in recent weeks may in effect send the message that they did not have an authentic commitment—or weren’t clear on why they were doing the work and how it connected to their “core values”—to begin with. The fallout and potential damage to consumer and employer brands may be challenging to recover from. 

As we head into the first week of March, i4cp will host its annual Next Practices Now Conference, in Scottsdale, Arizona, where we will continue the discussion of this data. Be sure to check in for additional in-depth analysis and practice insights from this survey, DE&I in 2025, which will be made available exclusively to i4cp members in the coming weeks.