Analysis-Trump's diversity crackdown reverberates through US boardrooms

By Ross Kerber, Bianca Flowers and Simon Jessop

July 28 (Reuters) - As U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his run against diverseness programs, appointments of women and radical minorities to S&P 500 boards person dropped to their lowest level successful much than a decade, threatening to unwind years of gains successful firm boardroom diversity.

The displacement is evident successful caller probe by recruiting firms that survey enactment diverseness and Reuters interviews with much than a twelve boardroom recruiters, investors and quality assets analysts.

It follows a bid of Trump medication ‌actions targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives known arsenic DEI. Across firm America, large investors who erstwhile pressed companies to diversify their boards person retreated, portion ineligible challenges person upended DEI policies successful caller years.

RECORD DIVERSITY MASKS SHIFT IN NEW APPOINTMENTS

New information released connected Tuesday by ‌global enforcement hunt steadfast Spencer Stuart shows diverseness successful committee appointments has steadily declined since peaking astatine 72% successful 2021 and 2022. Of the 364 caller autarkic directors named to S&P 500 boards during the twelvemonth ended April 30, 40% were women oregon radical minorities, the lowest level since 2014, erstwhile 39% of incoming directors were diverse, according to the enactment advisory firm.

On S&P 500 ​boards today, divers directors clasp 49.3% of the seats, somewhat down from a grounds of 49.6% successful 2024 and 2025, according to Spencer Stuart.

Recruiters and analysts interviewed by Reuters accidental those caller highs bespeak years of appointments pursuing the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. But portion committee diverseness remains adjacent a historical high, the lineup of caller directors is becoming markedly little diverse, suggesting those gains whitethorn beryllium hard to prolong if existent hiring patterns persist and a larger stock of caller committee seats goes to achromatic men, the recruiters and manufacture analysts say.

George Anderson, co-leader of Spencer Stuart's North American Board Advisory Practice, said boards are responding to changing legal, regulatory and governmental pressures. He said 1 operator of the diminution successful divers appointments is simply a displacement toward recruiting existent and erstwhile CEOs, who accounted for 37% of caller directors this year, the highest level successful 15 years. Companies spot those executives arsenic good suited to navigate complexity, but the CEO endowment excavation is little diverse, ‌he said.

The displacement successful boardroom appointments coincides with a crisp diminution successful the fig of companies publically citing ⁠diversity arsenic a origin successful committee recruitment. Some 12% of S&P 500 companies present disclose utilizing immoderate signifier of diverseness criteria successful committee decisions, down from 23% successful 2025, erstwhile President Donald Trump began his 2nd term, and 48% successful 2024 nether President Joe Biden, according to information for this twelvemonth provided to Reuters by PeopleReturn, a quality resources analytics firm. PeopleReturn shows committee diverseness peaked astatine astir 50% this year.