UMass Poll Finds Support for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs

Source: UMass News & Media

The Latest UMass Poll also Found a Softening of Confidence in Higher Education and a Wariness Toward Artificial Intelligence

A new national University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll has found a nearly 50% increase in awareness of the phrase DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – since the topic was last surveyed by the UMass Poll just prior to the 2024 election.

The new nationwide poll of 1,000 respondents, conducted April 4-9, has also found a decline in confidence in American institutions of higher education since a previous January 2024 UMass Poll, as well as a wariness toward artificial intelligence.

“Hours after assuming the presidency, Donald Trump signed a string of executive orders aimed at ending the federal government’s DEI programs, policies and mandates,” says Tatishe Nteta, Provost Professor of Political science at UMass Amherst and director of the poll. “Trump’s attacks on DEI and the responses of the private sector, state governments and colleges and universities are likely behind the newfound awareness of DEI seen in our results. In October 2024, a slim majority of Americans (52%) had ‘read, seen, or heard about’ DEI and more than a quarter (28%) had not heard of it. In our recent poll, close to half of all respondents have heard ‘a lot’ about DEI, up from 21% in October. The total number of Americans who had heard either ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ about DEI skyrockets to 3 in 4 (76%), while only about 1 in 12 Americans (8%) are unaware of DEI. As the nation continues to debate the future of DEI, with state governments and the private sector contemplating whether they should remain committed to DEI or end their programs, Americans have begun to tune in and take note.”

The respondents to the new poll also indicated strong approval for DEI training in all professions surveyed, in both the public and private sectors, including police, military, medicine and teaching.

“The Trump administration has claimed that DEI policies, programs and mandates are unpopular across a broad swath of the public,” Nteta says. “Our results suggest otherwise, as 2 in 3 Americans support the DEI training of police officers (69%), the military (65%), medical professionals (68%), teachers (66%), public employees (67%) and private sector employees (64%). Surprisingly, given the public controversy over DEI, we find majoritarian support for these trainings among men and women, young and old, across educational and income levels and across racial groups. As states and private entities look to reassess their DEI policies, our results point to DEI trainings as a widely popular way to address historical and contemporary racial, ethnic, gender and religious inequality, and are policies that should not find themselves on the chopping block based on our analysis of public opinion.”

Despite having majority support of its policies, DEI is not without its critics. 

“Republicans and Trump voters strongly oppose DEI programs, but why?” asks Jesse Rhodes, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll. “Strikingly, the most popular reason for Republican and Trump voter opposition is the concern that these programs discriminate against white people, with 65% and 66% agreeing with this view, respectively. Republicans and Trump voters also strongly believe that DEI programs undermine the U.S. military, with 63% of each group agreeing with this sentiment. In a particularly revealing view of the sources of Republican opposition to DEI, more than half of Republicans (54%) and Trump voters (55%) believe DEI programs threaten public safety. These strongly held views help explain the intensity of anti-DEI backlash among Republicans and the determination of the Trump administration to eliminate DEI programs.”

“In the wake of a string of natural disasters and airline crashes, President Donald Trump has pointed to DEI policies as the culprit, implicitly arguing that the hiring or promotion of people of color, women, LGBTQ+ or disabled Americans are at fault for these national tragedies,” Nteta says. “On other occasions, prominent Republicans, such as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, have made the claim that DEI efforts hurt the nation’s military. Our results show that the general public may not be buying what Trump is selling, though, with pluralities disagreeing with the statements that DEI policies, programs and mandates represent a threat to public safety (46%) and DEI policies have made the U.S. military weaker (45%). The only groups for whom a majority agree with these sentiments are Republicans, conservatives and Trump voters. On DEI, Trump and his administration look to be reflecting the will of his supporters, but not of the broader American public.”

“Most Americans do not believe diversity, equity and inclusion programs are a threat to public safety, have made the U.S. military weaker, or represent discrimination against white people,” notes Alexander Theodoridis, Associate Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll. “But even those who do believe these things do not generally place ending DEI programs high on their list of priorities for Trump’s administration.”

The poll also asked respondents to give their brief descriptions of what DEI means to them and the responses from Democrats and Republicans were surprisingly similar, but for different reasons.

“The results show that Democrats generally view DEI efforts as essential to ensuring equal opportunity, while Republicans instead see DEI efforts as a threat to merit-based decisions,” says Doug Rice, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science at UMass Amherst, who assisted the poll’s directors in analyzing the responses. “Both groups are fundamentally concerned with ‘equality,’ but Democratic respondents center on how DEI advances equality by correcting for existing biases, whereas Republican respondents instead emphasize that DEI undermines equal treatment on the basis of individual merit.”

“Americans have complex feelings about DEI initiatives,” Rhodes summarizes. “On one hand, a plurality of Americans rejects the most vociferous claims by the Trump administration that DEI programs threaten public safety or make the U.S. military weaker. On the other hand, only 36% of Americans endorse the idea that DEI programs provide compensation for past discrimination and only 31% believe these programs create a more egalitarian society. The argument about DEI programs that Americans find most persuasive is that they promote better decision-making by enabling an exchange of diverse perspectives. Nearly half of Americans (48%) agree with this view. 

“In short,” Rhodes says, “Americans are of mixed minds about the outcomes of DEI programs.”

Higher Education
The new University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll also found a drop in confidence for institutions of higher education to meet various traditional expectations, such as affordability, preparing students for future careers and protecting vulnerable groups.

“Like other institutions in America, higher education has seen a public decline in confidence,” explains Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and co-director of the poll. “We took a deeper dive across a range of outputs and what stands out most is that 57% of voters are not confident that higher ed will make college affordable. Another weak issue for higher education is freedom of speech – 38% saying they don’t have confidence that higher education will protect freedom of speech on campus, compared to just 26% who say they have a lot of confidence, plus another 35% who say they have ‘some’ confidence. A significant portion of the public also has doubts about the capacity of higher ed to prepare students for citizenship in American democracy with 36% lacking confidence, 37% saying they have some confidence and just 27% saying they have a lot of confidence. At a very challenging time for higher education, these numbers suggest areas where higher ed leadership and faculty need to make headway with the public.”

“As the Trump administration spars with America’s colleges and universities, voters appear to have mixed views on these institutions,” Theodoridis says. “There is still at least some confidence that our colleges and universities can prepare students for successful careers, protect free speech on campus and prepare students for citizenship in American democracy, but much less confidence that they can make degrees affordable or protect freedom of speech on campus.”

“There are also concerns about safety for particular groups on campus,” La Raja adds. “For example, just one-third of Americans say they have significant confidence in colleges and universities to protect people of color, and only 1 in 4 say that about religious minorities.”

Trans Rights, Artificial Intelligence
Finally, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Poll asked respondents about their views of the debate swirling around transgender individuals’ rights, as well as what they feel about the increase in artificial intelligence in everyday life.

“Almost half of Americans (48%) say that they would support a bill that prohibits transgender youth from joining school-sponsored sports teams that match their gender identity, while only 28% would oppose and 24% do not offer an opinion,” La Raja says. “People over 55 years old are much more supportive of a ban (55%) compared to Americans under 30 (34%). Moreover, 4 in 5 Trump voters support a sports ban compared to just 1 in 4 Harris voters. The nation is also divided – although not as much – on laws that would make provision of gender-affirming care to transgender youth a crime. Thirty-six percent support making this a crime, while 38% oppose it and 26% do not express a view.”

As for AI, the poll shows broad wariness on its increasing role in the world.

“Artificial intelligence has burst onto the scene and the public consciousness in recent years, and we wanted to better understand what Americans think AI will mean for the economy and society going forward,” Theodoridis says. “For many respondents, the jury is still out. However, the overall outlook appears to be pessimistic – most Americans (64%) believe AI will increase the spread of false information and 55% of Americans worry AI will threaten the future of humanity. About 4 in 10 respondents (39%) think AI will eliminate or reduce opportunities in their desired field and 36% believe AI will increase inequality in society. Fewer than 3 in 10 Americans tell us AI will make them more productive (29%), make people less lonely (21%) or improve the economy (23%). Given this generally bearish outlook, it makes sense that 58% of Americans say AI should be strictly regulated by the government.”

Topline results and crosstabs for the poll can be found at www.umass.edu/poll