Diversity, equity, and inclusion regression: Perceptions of organizations that fail to persevere in their stated commitments

U.S. organizations have increasingly abandoned their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The present research examines whether assessments of an organization's motivation to be non-prejudiced and anticipated identity safety at an organization are impacted by the organization's perseverance in their DEI commitment. Across four experiments with Black Americans (N = 1375), organizations that had diversity statements two years ago and have either removed or diluted this statement in the present were perceived as less genuinely committed to be non-prejudiced, less tenacious in their DEI commitments, and signaled less anticipated belonging for Black Americans compared to an organization that has persisted in its commitment. These effects emerged even when anti-DEI state legislation (Study 2) and norms of DEI regression across organizations (Study 3) were made salient. These findings demonstrate that perseverance of organizational identity safety cues is critical in shaping attributions of motivations and identity safety.