It’s a tough time to be a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practitioner in America, as new employment research produced for NPR reveals significant job losses in the sector.
About 2,600 jobs, or 13% of jobs including “diversity” or “DEI” in the titles or descriptions that existed in 2023, have been eliminated, a recent analysis conducted for NPR by Revelio Labs shows. As of January 2025, the total DEI roles in the U.S. dropped to approximately 17,700, down from a peak of 20,000 in 2023.
Job postings for DEI positions saw a staggering 595% increase in August 2022 compared to 2020, but that figure stood at 73% as of January, NPR reported. Likewise, roles associated with concepts like “belonging,” “social impact” or “culture” are also on the decline.
Verizon has now agreed to end its DEI policies as specified in a new FCC filing.
These changes are effective immediately.
A good step forward for equal opportunity, nondiscrimination, and the public interest. https://t.co/4a0SYgFcr2 pic.twitter.com/yrVdUVrxmV
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) May 16, 2025
The analysis follows recent reports of major corporations dumping their DEI programs and scaling back their financial support of pride events in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on what it deems to be illegal DEI practices.
Although these numbers represent a downturn, the current total of DEI jobs still far exceeds the 7,000 recorded in 2016. Furthermore, observers like Will Hild, Executive Director of Consumers’ Research, express concern that DEI roles may simply be transferred into other corporate departments like human resources.
“While I think it’s great that there are fewer roles that have DEI in the title — and I hope in a few years that will be zero — I do think the growth of the HR bureaucracy far above what we’ve seen in employment is also a problem we need to keep an eye on. If they just relabel DEI to be some department of HR, it’s not going to do any good,” Hild told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 922,000 individuals were employed by the human resources sector in 2024, up from 631,000 in 2016.
President Donald Trump has been leading a major effort to eliminate identity-based considerations in employment and illegal DEI programs, signing an executive order aimed at “Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” on Jan. 21. In line with the executive order, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is expected to release a report in the coming weeks with recommendations encouraging the private sector to end discriminatory practices, as well as a list of up to nine civil compliance investigations per agency.
Moreover, Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, told the DCNF in April that investigating employers who discriminate against people based on race is one of the agency’s new top priorities.
The Revelio Labs analysis also found that women accounted for more than 71% of all DEI professionals from 2020 through 2024, compared with 51% of other roles. Additionally, Black and Hispanic workers represented only 21% of other jobs but held 33% of DEI positions.
“That’s a tacit admission that they were engaging in race- and sex-based discrimination. They’re basically saying that DEI roles are made for people of color and women, and that’s illegal,” said Hild. “I’m hopeful and encouraged that Harmeet will drop the hammer on these companies.”
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