2026 Theses Doctoral

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in a Polarized Environment

Chowdhury, Maliha

This paper examines how U.S. public firms adjust diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts in response to rising political polarization. Leveraging two pivotal events that intensified DEI polarization, the 2023 Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action and the 2024 presidential election, I document declines in both public DEI goal disclosures and internal actions, with sharper contractions after the election. Because disclosure and practice are not always aligned, I classify firms into disclosure-action configurations to distinguish between broad retreat and strategic reductions in visibility. Results show convergence toward simultaneously lower disclosure and action. I also find evidence of quiet continuation, where firms maintain internal programs while reducing external signaling. Firms that scale back DEI goals are more likely to subsequently experience declines in diverse senior hiring and employee sentiment, with stronger effects in pro-DEI states.