A majority of Americans support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, according to a new poll.
pollAccording to a Washington Post/Ipsos survey, 61% of Americans believe it’s a “good thing” for companies to adopt DEI programs, which are often aimed at promoting fairness and equality within organizations. Thirty-four percent of respondents said it’s a “bad thing” for companies to adopt DEI programs.
DEI programs have become such a hot button issue for American conservatives that Republican lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would ban all DEI programs and funding in the federal government. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who introduced the bill, said DEI “has no place in the federal government or anywhere in society.”
“I am proud to introduce this bill, which will eradicate DEI from the federal bureaucracy by eliminating DEI programs and stripping funding from every place DEI policy exists,” Vance continued in a statement. “Americans’ tax dollars should not be used to spread this extreme and divisive ideology, and this bill will stop that from happening.”
The Washington Post-Ipsos poll also asked respondents whether they believed companies had “programs to promote equality in the workplace by hiring more employees from underrepresented groups, such as racial and ethnic minorities or people with disabilities,” and 69% said it was a “good thing.” Twenty-six percent of Americans who took the same survey said it was a “bad thing” for companies to pursue such programs.
In March, the Congressional Black Caucus called on the Department of Justice to investigate the legality of states that ban DEI programs at colleges and universities. Right-leaning states like Florida and Texas have banned DEI at public universities.
The Washington Post/Ipsos poll was conducted April 9-16 with a sample size of 1,029 people and a margin of sampling error of 3.2 percentage points. The questions about approval of DEI programs and hiring employees from “underrepresented groups” were both asked to half the original sample of 1,029 people — 512 to 517 people — and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, according to the Post survey. article In a public opinion poll.
This story was updated at 5:26 p.m.
