Topline
Americans believe more than ever that diverse workforces make businesses more profitable, according to a new Bentley University-Gallup survey, a shift that cuts across party lines even as Republicans remain far more skeptical than Democrats or independents.
Penzys retail spice store with a sign supporting DEI.
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Key Facts
Seventy-one percent of Americans now say it is somewhat or completely true that businesses with diverse workforces are more profitable, up from 61% in 2025—a 10-percentage-point gain in a single year.
Another 75% say businesses with diverse workforces make more innovative products, up from 64% in 2025, and 72% believe promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is a somewhat or extremely important priority for businesses.
Gains in the belief that workforce diversity benefits business were recorded across all three partisan groups, with independents and Republicans each rising 11 percentage points on the profitability question, though Republicans remain the most skeptical—59% still say the link is somewhat or completely untrue.
The poll surveyed 3,270 U.S. adults aged 18 and older with a margin of sampling error of ±2.4 percentage points.
BIG NUMBER
94%. That’s how many Democrats believe businesses with a diverse workforce make more innovative products, compared with 46% of Republicans who say the same.
Key background
Even as diversity and DEI programs remain politically divisive, the findings suggest that perceptions of workforce diversity are becoming more positive across the political spectrum. Modern corporate diversity programs trace their origins back to the Civil Rights Act and 1960s affirmative action mandates, but it wasn’t until the 2010s that the business community started to frame DEI as a core driver of financial performance. The 2020 murder of George Floyd prompted an unprecedented surge in corporate pledges and explicit “equity” goals in workplaces, but legal challenges and scrutiny of corporate DEI programs have since surged and, in 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending all DEI-related policies, programs and positions within federal agencies and requiring agencies to report employees involved in diversity and environmental justice work.
TANGENT
Major American companies started pulling back on their DEI programs in 2024, sparked by threats of boycotts led by conservative activities, and the trend gained momentum into 2025. Tractor Supply Co., which has nearly 2,500 stores nationwide, cut all of its DEI roles and ended sponsorship of events like Pride festivals, citing customer feedback. John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Target, Ford Motor Co., Walmart and Target all followed, citing business reasons or the shifting political landscape as reasons why. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and Amazon also reduced their dedicated DEI headcount, phased out specific minority-led supplier funding and trimmed employee resource groups following Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action and new executive guidelines.
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