IoD press release Majority of UK businesses are not planning to alter their ED&I policies in response to Trump
71% of business leaders do not plan to alter their organisation’s approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) in response to the scaling back of ED&I programmes in the US, according to a recent poll by the Institute of Directors.
The March 2025 survey of 605 IoD members found that only 11% of respondents expect their organisations to scale down ED&I activities in the near future.
President Trump has signed a series of executive orders instructing US government agencies to cease DEI programmes (as ED&I is referred to in the US), leading many US companies to scale back their own DEI programmes. DEI typically describes policies and programmes that promote the representation and participation of different groups of individuals in the workplace.
Alex Hall-Chen, Principal Policy Advisor for Employment at the Institute of Directors, said:
“This research suggests that, whilst developments in ED&I in the US may have some spillover effect in the UK, the vast majority of UK workplaces will see no change.
“Particularly for employers with no US presence, the prevailing view among British businesses is that decisions made by the US government and US companies will have little to no bearing on investment in their own ED&I programmes.
“However, some global employers will undoubtedly have to tread a difficult line between avoiding divergence with US counterparts and meeting the expectations of UK stakeholders.”
Full results
605 responses from across the UK, conducted between 14-27 March 2025. 13% ran large businesses (250+ people), 18% medium (50-249), 25% small (10-49 people), 31% micro (2-9 people) and 13% sole trader and self-employed business entities (0-1 people).
President Trump has signed a series of executive orders instructing US government agencies to cease ED&I programmes, leading many US companies to scale back their own ED&I programmes. Do you expect your primary organisation to alter its approach to ED&I within the next year in response to these developments?
