Americans are deeply divided when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and political correctness, according to a poll from NBC News.
The divisions have emerged along partisan and racial lines, with the poll coming as President Donald Trump continues his push to dismantle DEI programs.
In the poll, 49 percent of registered voters agreed that DEI programs should end as “they create divisions and inefficiencies in the workplace by putting too much emphasis on race and other social factors over merit, skills, and experience.”
Meanwhile, 48 percent said DEI programs should remain “because diverse perspectives reflect our country, create innovative ideas and solutions, encourage unity, and make our workplaces fair and inclusive.”
Forty-three percent of voters said they have negative attitudes toward DEI programs, with 39 percent saying they have positive attitudes and 14 percent saying they’re neutral.
Meanwhile, 51 percent of voters said they believe that there’s “too much political correctness in our society today, and too much pressure on people to limit what they can do or say to avoid offending other people.”
Forty-five percent said there’s “too much prejudice in our society today, and people need to be more respectful in what they do and say to avoid offending other people.”
On his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order designed to end DEI programs at federal agencies. This led some private companies to make similar moves. The Department of Education, which Trump aims to dismantle, has begun investigations of more than 50 colleges and universities as part of the measures against DEI programs. Similarly, the Federal Election Commission has begun an inquiry into Comcast and its DEI efforts.
Democratic pollster Aileen Cardona-Arroyo at Hart Research Associates told NBC: “When we see these heated conversations at a partisan level about DEI, it really comes down to: How are they looking at American society today? Where do they see the problems? And that’s going to lead to very different solutions and very different approaches.”
Hart Research Associates conducted the poll alongside the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies.
There are sharp divisions along partisan lines among voters, with 80 percent of Republicans saying there’s too much political correctness, compared to Democrats, 77 percent of which say there’s too much prejudice. Independents are more divided, with 46 percent saying there’s too much political correctness and 43 percent saying there’s too much prejudice.
Among Republicans, 85 percent say DEI programs should end, while the same amount of Democrats say the opposite. Among independents, 59 percent say the programs should carry on, while 39 percent say they should be discontinued.
There’s also a widening gap between young men and women.
Sixty-seven percent of women aged 18 to 49 say that DEI programs should remain, while 31 percent say they should be removed. Among men of the same age, 40 percent want DEI programs to continue, and 57 percent say they should end. Among older women and men, more women support DEI programs. However, the gap is smaller.
Cardona-Arroyo noted that “The survey also points to there being more political intensity and salience for Republicans around these issues than there is for Democrats.”
A majority of white voters both said that DEI programs should end and that there’s too much political correctness. Among white women with college degrees, 59 percent said DEI programs should continue and that there’s too much prejudice.
Meanwhile, 80 percent of Black voters said DEI programs should remain, and 71 percent said there’s too much prejudice.
Republican pollster Bill McInturff at Public Opinion Strategies told NBC that Trump’s efforts on DEI “are just really echoing with his core political base.”
