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 and 2025—tracking how public attitudes have evolved during a period of dramatic political and cultural change.
2024: Establishing the Baseline
Our initial research sought to understand how Americans viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion as both concept and practice. The goal was to establish a clear baseline: how voters defined DEI in their own words, what role they believed it should play in institutions, workplaces, and public life, and how they responded to both pro- and anti-DEI messaging.
2025: Measuring the Shift
By 2025, the environment had shifted dramatically. With the Trump administration's highly visible campaign against DEI, we returned to the field with three key objectives:
To measure what had changed in public attitudes over the past year
To assess how Trump's rhetoric and actions targeting DEI are impacting attitudes
To identify the best strategies for communicating about DEI in today's polarized political climate
Research Methodology
National Survey
Bellwether Research conducted a representative national survey of 3,012 voters online from June 16-21, 2025. The full sample was balanced to approximate a target sample of U.S. registered voters based on the Current Population Survey (CPS Census). The data was weighted by age, gender, race, education, Hispanic ethnicity, and geographic Census region.
An additional oversample of 200 AAPI voters was obtained between June 20-21, 2025. This oversample was balanced to approximate a target sample of AAPI voters in the U.S. based on the CPS Census and weighted by age, gender, education, and geographic Census region.
Focus Groups
Bellwether Research and Hart Research conducted 10 focus groups prior to the national survey, engaging diverse populations across the country:
White suburban women (2 groups)
Black men under 40
Latina women
Latino men (2 groups)
Men who voted for Biden in '20 and Trump in '24
White men who listen to the Joe Rogan podcast
Community college students
Young men from Northern Virginia
Qualitative Follow-Up
Each firm conducted a Qualboard following the survey to deepen insights. Hart Research participants were men under the age of 45, and Bellwether Research convened independent voters who split their vote between Harris and Trump in 2024.
This multi-method approach—combining quantitative survey research with qualitative focus groups and ongoing dialogue—provides a nuanced understanding of where Americans are on these issues, and what language and strategies can build broader understanding and support