American workers’ views on the role of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the workplace have become more negative since last year, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center.

Compared to February 2023, workers are now slightly more likely to say:

• Focusing on increasing DEI at work is mostly a bad thing.
• Their company or organization is paying too much attention to increasing DEI.

In a separate survey, we asked all Americans – regardless of employment status – about their views on the impact of DEI practices in the workplace.

• More and more Americans say DEI practices help rather than hurt black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women, as well as white women.
• In turn, far more Americans say DEI hurts white men than say it helps them (36% vs. 14%).

These results come from two recent surveys: one conducted among U.S. workers in October 2024 and another among U.S. adults in September 2024. Additional results come from a previous Center survey of U.S. workers conducted in February 2023 .

Worker Views on DEI in the Workplace

About half of workers (52%) now say that focusing on increasing DEI at work is mostly a good thing, up from 56% in February 2023. The share of workers who consider it a bad thing (21 %) is up 5 percentage points. since last year. About a quarter (26%) say focusing on DEI is neither good nor bad.

As was the case in 2023Women, Democrats, and Black, Hispanic, and Asian workers are among the groups most likely to say that focusing on increasing DEI in the workplace is a good thing.

Republicans and men continue to be among the groups of workers most likely to view DEI efforts as a bad thing, and their views have become more negative since last year.

About four in ten Republican and Republican-leaning workers (42%) now say a focus on DEI is a bad thing, up from 30% last year. The share of Republicans who express a neutral view fell 8 points, while the share of Republicans who see it as a good thing is virtually unchanged.

Among male employees, 29% say focusing on DEI is a bad thing, compared to 23% who said this in February 2023. The share of male workers who view this as a good thing fell 6 points from 50 % in 2023 to 44%. % Today.

Asian workers have also become less likely since 2023 to view DEI efforts as a good thing: 57% of Asian workers say this, up from 72%. More Asian workers now have a neutral view of DEI compared to last year. Around three in ten (28%) now say that focusing on DEI is neither good nor bad, up from 18% in 2023.

There has been little change in the perception of DEI as a good thing among white and black workers. However, among white workers, a growing share say DEI is a bad thing: 27% say this today, compared to 21% in 2023.

Workers’ Views on Focusing on DEI in the Workplace

About half of workers overall (52%) say their company or organization pays enough attention to increasing DEI. This share has remained fairly stable since last year.

But a growing share of workers say their company pays too much pay attention to the increase in DEI. As of February 2023, workers were about as likely to say their company or organization paid too much attention to DEI as to say it paid too little attention (14% vs. 15%). Today, more of them say that their workplace gives them too much attention rather than not enough (19% versus 12%).

Opinions by race and ethnicity

White, Black, and Hispanic workers are now slightly more likely to report that their company or organization is paying too much attention to increasing DEI than they were in 2023.

Today, 8% of Black workers say their company or organization pays too much attention to DEI, up from 3% in February 2023. In turn, 18% now say their company or organization pays too little attention to DEI, compared to 28% in February 2023. 2023.

Asian workers’ opinions on whether their company or organization pays too much or too little attention to DEI have not changed much since 2023.

Views by party

Republicans and Democrats are both more likely than in 2023 to say their company is paying too much attention to increasing DEI:

• 29% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say this today, compared to 24% in 2023.
• 10% of Democrats and Democratic Party supporters say this, up from 6%.

At the same time, the share of Democratic workers who say their company pays too little attention to DEI dropped 5 points, from 21% to 16%. There has been no change in this view among Republican workers.

Americans’ Perspectives on the Impact of DEI Practices in the Workplace

We separately asked Americans, regardless of their employment status, for their opinions on DEI practices in the workplace and whether these efforts helped or harmed certain groups.

More Americans say DEI practices help Black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women than say DEI harms them.

Opinions are more mixed about the impact on white women in the workplace. Three in ten Americans say DEI practices help white women, compared to 23% who say they harm them.

In contrast, many more say DEI practices harm white men rather than help them (36% vs. 14%).

For the most part, similar shares of men and women say DEI practices help each group. But by margins of 4 to 16 points, men are more likely than women to report these practices. hurt each group. For example, 45% of men say DEI practices harm white men in the workplace, compared to 29% of women who say the same.

Opinions by race and ethnicity

White and Asian adults are especially likely to say that DEI practices help diverse groups, including Black women and men, Hispanic women and men, and Asian women. In turn, Black and Hispanic adults (29% and 23%) are more likely than other groups to report that DEI practices help white men in the workplace.

White adults more likely than other racial and ethnic groups to report DEI practices hurt White men and women in the workplace:

• 47% of white adults say DEI practices in the workplace harm white men.
• 29% of white adults say DEI practices harm white women.

That’s much higher than the shares of black, Hispanic and Asian adults who say the same about DEI’s impact on white men and women.

Views by party

Republicans and Democrats are both more likely to say that DEI practices help black, Hispanic and Asian men and women do no harm. But Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say these practices harm all groups surveyed in the survey. In turn, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they help each group.

These differences are particularly evident in the view of the impact of DEI on white men. A majority of 56% of Republicans say DEI practices harm white men, compared to 19% of Democrats, a difference of 37 percentage points.

Note: Learn more about questions used for this analysisTHE methodology for the survey from September 3 to 15 and the methodology for the survey from October 7 to 13.