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The nation’s biggest companies are increasingly stepping back from publicly sharing their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, marking a sharp break from recent years.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2026 Corporate Equality Index, released in February, found a 65% drop in Fortune 500 participation, with 131 companies submitting information for evaluation this year, down from 377 in 2025.
Dustin DeVito, head of research at the conservative watchdog 1792 Exchange, called the decline “shocking,” in an interview with Digital.
He said this year was the first time that Fortune 500 CEI corporate participation has “plummeted” by double digits, after he said it plateaued in 2025.
The 2026 Corporate Equality Index report by the Human Rights Campaign showed a 65% decline in the number of Fortune 500 companies that chose to voluntarily submit their DEI policies for evaluation. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
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“But this year, it’s totally fallen apart,” DeVito said.
HRC says the drop in submissions does not necessarily mean companies are abandoning workplace inclusion policies altogether.
“Instead, the decline in submissions reflects a shift in how employers are approaching transparency in the current environment,” the report says. HRC also said policy implementation among companies that did participate was “sustained or increased” across the criteria measured from 2025 to 2026.
The report says 534 companies earned a perfect score for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion policies in this year’s index.
Hundreds protest outside a rally held by President Donald Trump at Macomb County Community College in Warren, Michigan, on April 29, 2025. (Getty Images/Dominic Gwinn)
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DeVito questioned the group’s transparency, noting that HRC did not identify the companies that received perfect scores in the body of this year’s report or list individuals serving on the HRC Business Advisory Council, as it had done in past reports.
He also said the report no longer shows the same level of detail on company profiles about the policies companies submitted for review, which he argued shields companies from scrutiny.
“They’re upset that companies are not being transparent, yet they’re also contributing to the lack of transparency,” DeVito said.
He pointed to the Cracker Barrel rebrand controversy last August as an example of how consumer backlash to DEI policies has hurt major companies in recent years. He noted that during that time, the company faced more scrutiny after news broke that a former executive at Cracker Barrel went on to serve on the HRC Business Advisory Council.
General view of a Cracker Barrel Country Store in Fishkill, New York, Monday, Aug. 25, 2025. (Richard Beetham for Digital)
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1792 Exchange, which tracks corporate activism and advocates for more politically neutral business practices, says that despite the decline in participation, some underlying DEI workplace policies have remained in place.
The group noted that this year’s index shows 72% of Fortune 500 companies offer transgender-inclusive healthcare benefits. DeVito said this year’s CEI also expanded certain transgender-care coverage requirements for companies seeking a perfect score.
Even so, many corporations have moved away from DEI language in public communications in recent years. Gravity Research reported in November that “the term ‘DEI’ fell 98% across Fortune 100 communications.” The report analyzed more than 1,000 corporate documents from January 2023 to May 2025.
That shift has unfolded as the Trump administration has cracked down on DEI programs in the private sector. In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” while directing federal agencies to take steps to encourage private sector companies to end illicit DEI policies through regulatory actions, investigations, litigation or other means.
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Several companies, including Starbucks, Nike and JPMorgan Chase, have also faced lawsuits alleging their DEI hiring practices are discriminatory.
According to 1792, at least 26 companies have publicly retreated from participating in the Corporate Equality Index, including Tractor Supply Company, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Nissan, Walmart, McDonald’s and Target.
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HRC President Kelley Robinson said in the report that while it remains illegal to discriminate against LGBTQ+ workers, she noted in the group’s report that “pressure from the federal government has been unprecedented, rolling back protections, publishing executive orders and threatening investigations for diversity and inclusion work.”
“It’s in this context that some companies have pulled back from this work,” she added.
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The Human Rights Campaign did not respond to Digital’s request for comment.
Fox Business’ Eric Revell, Elizabeth Heckman and Alba Cuebas-Fantauzzi contributed to this report.
