Polling & Research
Understanding How Americans Think About Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Resource Impact/NxtLevel commissioned Bellwether Research and Hart Research to conduct comprehensive national research on diversity, equity, and inclusion in both 2024, 2025, and 2026—tracking how public attitudes have evolved during a period of dramatic political and cultural change.
2026: Closing the Gap
By 2026, the contours of public opinion are clear: Americans value fairness and opportunity, even as they differ on which solutions can bring those values to life.
This latest round of polling picks up where NxtLevel’s 2025 research left off, shifting from establishing a baseline of American core values and beliefs, to identifying the concrete changes people need to feel these values in their lives.
As the administration's rollback of DEI accelerated and with the midterm elections on the horizon, we returned to the field with two key objectives:
To understand how to best close the gap between the values Americans hold and the reality they experience every day
To identify which specific administration and corporate actions persuade voters to act and why
2025: Measuring the Shift
Between 2024 and 2025, the environment had shifted dramatically. With the Trump administration's highly visible campaign against DEI, our polling sought clarity on:
What had changed in public attitudes over the past year
How Trump's rhetoric and actions targeting DEI impact attitudes
The best strategies for communicating about DEI in a highly polarized political climate
2024: Establishing the Baseline
Our initial research sought to understand how Americans view diversity, equity, and inclusion as both a value and practice. The goal was to establish a clear baseline: how voters define DEI in their own words, the role they believe it should play in institutions, workplaces, and public life, and their response to both pro- and anti-DEI messaging.