2026-07-28T14:02:34.262Z / 路透社
7月28日（路透社）——随着美国总统唐纳德·特朗普加大对多样性项目的打击力度，标普500指数成分股公司董事会中女性和少数族裔的任命比例已降至十多年来的最低水平，有可能抹去企业董事会多样性建设多年来取得的成果。
这一转变在研究领导力多样性的招聘公司的最新研究以及路透社对十余名董事会招聘人员、投资者和人力资源分析师的采访中得到了印证。
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这一情况发生在特朗普政府一系列针对多元化、公平性和包容性（简称DEI）举措的行动之后。在美国企业界，曾一度敦促公司实现董事会多元化的大型投资者纷纷退缩，而近年来的法律诉讼也颠覆了多项DEI政策。
创纪录的整体多样性掩盖了新任命的变化
全球高管猎头公司史宾沙（Spencer Stuart）周二发布的最新数据显示，自2021年和2022年达到72%的峰值后，董事会新任命人员的多样性比例持续下滑。这家领导力咨询公司的数据显示，在截至2026年4月30日的一年里，标普500指数成分股公司董事会新增的364名独立董事中，40%为女性或少数族裔，这是自2014年以来的最低水平，当年新任董事中的多元化比例为39%。
史宾沙的数据显示，目前标普500指数成分股公司董事会中，多元化背景董事占比49.3%，较2024年和2025年创下的49.6%的纪录略有下降。
接受路透社采访的招聘人员和分析师表示，此前的高位反映了#MeToo运动和“黑人的命也是命”运动之后多年的任命成果。但他们指出，尽管董事会整体多样性仍接近历史高位，但新任董事的构成正明显变得不再多元化，如果当前的招聘模式持续下去，且更多新董事会席位落入白人男性手中，那么这些成果可能难以维持。
史宾沙北美董事会咨询业务联席主管乔治·安德森表示，董事会正在对不断变化的法律、监管和政治压力做出回应。他说，多元化任命比例下降的一个驱动因素是转向招聘现任和前任首席执行官，这类人士今年占新任董事的37%，为15年来的最高水平。他表示，企业认为这些高管擅长应对复杂局面，但首席执行官人才库的多样性较低。
董事会任命的转变恰逢公开将多样性列为董事会招聘考量因素的公司数量大幅减少。人力资源分析公司PeopleReturn向路透社提供的今年数据显示，目前约12%的标普500指数成分股公司披露，在董事会决策中会采用某种形式的多样性标准，低于2025年特朗普开启第二任期时的23%，以及2024年乔·拜登总统任期内的48%。PeopleReturn的数据显示，董事会多样性今年曾达到近50%的峰值。
多样性举措的支持者表示，这些举措有助于为历史上处于弱势的群体拓展机会，并改善治理和决策制定。而特朗普和其他批评人士则称，这些举措歧视白人和男性，破坏了基于择优的晋升机制。
经常就社会问题游说科技公司的Nia Impact Capital首席投资官克里斯汀·赫尔表示，任命比例的下降反映了企业领导层重新回归男性主导的状态。
“我们曾取得了如此大的进步，”她说，“现在，‘兄弟文化’又死灰复燃了。”
不过，曾通过多起备受关注的社交媒体运动推动塔吉特（Tractor Supply，股票代码TSCO.O）和约翰迪尔（John Deere，股票代码DE.N）等公司取消DEI政策的保守派活动家罗比·斯塔巴克对这一变化表示欢迎。
“他们之前把精力都放在了错误的事情上，这从他们的营收中就能看出来，”他说。两家公司均未回复置评请求。
当被问及企业多样性项目的缩减时，白宫发言人艾莉森·舒斯特表示，特朗普“以压倒性优势当选，肩负着结束分裂性、种族主义政策，恢复择优原则和效率的使命”。
“我们的国家将不再被‘觉醒’意识形态裹挟”
在特朗普政府任期内，根据1964年《民权法案》设立的平等就业机会委员会被 tasked with 铲除政府所称的非法DEI做法，即所谓在招聘和晋升中给予女性和少数族裔优待的行为。
2023年最高法院裁定在大学招生中考虑种族是非法的，此后许多公司在特朗普第二任期开始前就已取消或重新评估了其多样性举措。尽管该裁决并未涉及企业行为，但却引发了一系列针对企业多项多样性举措的法律威胁。
特朗普去年发布行政命令，限制联邦承包商和联邦政府内部的某些DEI项目，随后宣称“我们的国家将不再被‘觉醒’意识形态裹挟”。
特朗普政府威胁对不遵守规定的公司处以巨额罚款。
IBM（股票代码IBM.N）今年4月同意支付1700万美元，以解决有关其歧视部分员工、未遵守特朗普将联邦承包商的DEI举措定为非法的行政命令的指控。美国司法部指控IBM在招聘中优先考虑多元化候选人，并将奖金与就业决策中达成特定人口统计目标挂钩。IBM是首家因雇佣行为违反特朗普反DEI指令而面临处罚的美国公司，该公司未回复置评请求。
不过，股东们对削弱DEI的提案几乎没有兴趣。最近几个月，保守派提出的三项针对企业DEI工作的股东提案在年度股东大会上平均仅获得1.5%的支持率，这一比例处于正常水平。
董事会招聘不再将多样性作为重点
尽管整体董事会多样性仍接近纪录高位，但路透社对十余名招聘人员、投资者和从业人员的采访表明，企业在董事会招聘中越来越不重视多样性。
这种转变在许多曾在#MeToo运动和2020年乔治·弗洛伊德被警察杀害抗议活动后倡导多样性举措的公司中体现明显，包括强生（Johnson & Johnson，股票代码JNJ.N）、高盛（Goldman Sachs）和美国运通（American Express，股票代码AXP.N）。
高盛去年年初取消了其要求其承销的上市公司至少拥有两名多元化董事会成员的规定，理由是“法律环境变化”，此时距特朗普签署首个针对多样性举措的行政命令仅数周。高盛发言人表示，该公司仍认为多样性有助于提升业绩，对其财务成功至关重要。强生和美国运通均未回复置评请求。
投资者的退缩减轻了对董事会多样性的压力
PeopleReturn首席执行官乔希·拉默表示，贝莱德（BlackRock，股票代码BLK.N）、先锋集团（Vanguard）和道富银行（State Street，股票代码STT.N）等顶级资产管理公司从DEI政策中退缩，减轻了企业实现董事会多元化的压力。
“所有曾推动这项工作的大型投资者都彻底不再提及此事。大型企业高管们感受到的谈论这一话题的压力大大减轻了，”他说。
这些基金经理此前的政策要求其持股的公司董事会具备一定程度的多样性。例如，贝莱德在2021年末呼吁董事会实现30%的多元化比例，而先锋集团在2022年呼吁至少实现性别、种族和民族的多样性。
然而，两家公司去年都删除了相关表述。道富银行在2025年2月取消了其要求大型公司董事会中女性占比至少30%的预期。
这三家资产管理公司均拒绝为本文置评。
在高管层层面，招聘人员表示，多样性在高管招聘中的权重有所下降。史宾沙的数据显示，去年标普500指数成分股公司首席执行官中，女性和少数族裔占比约22%，较前一年的23%有所下降。
史宾沙和PeopleReturn根据员工自我申报的信息，并辅以外部来源和其他研究，追踪董事会成员的种族、族裔和性别信息。
“如今我们听到更多的是‘最优秀的人才’。少数族裔身份的吸引力已不如从前，”高管猎头公司Christian & Timbers的首席执行官杰夫·克里斯琴说道。
由罗斯·克伯在波士顿、比安卡·弗劳尔斯在芝加哥和西蒙·杰索普在伦敦报道；道恩·科佩基和霍华德·戈勒编辑
Trump’s diversity crackdown reverberates through US boardrooms
2026-07-28T14:02:34.262Z / Reuters
July 28 (Reuters) – As U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies his campaign against diversity programs, appointments of women and racial minorities to S&P 500 boards have dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade, threatening to unwind years of gains in corporate boardroom diversity.
The shift is evident in new research by recruiting firms that study leadership diversity and Reuters interviews with more than a dozen boardroom recruiters, investors and human resource analysts.
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It follows a series of Trump administration actions targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives known as DEI. Across corporate America, major investors who once pressed companies to diversify their boards have retreated, while legal challenges have upended DEI policies in recent years.
RECORD DIVERSITY MASKS SHIFT IN NEW APPOINTMENTS
New data released on Tuesday by global executive search firm Spencer Stuart shows diversity in board appointments has steadily declined since peaking at 72% in 2021 and 2022. Of the 364 new independent directors named to S&P 500 boards during the year ended April 30, 40% were women or racial minorities, the lowest level since 2014, when 39% of incoming directors were diverse, according to the leadership advisory firm.
On S&P 500 boards today, diverse directors hold 49.3% of the seats, slightly down from a record of 49.6% in 2024 and 2025, according to Spencer Stuart.
Recruiters and analysts interviewed by Reuters say those recent highs reflect years of appointments following the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements. But while board diversity remains near a historic high, the lineup of new directors is becoming markedly less diverse, suggesting those gains may prove difficult to sustain if current hiring patterns persist and a larger share of new board seats goes to white men, the recruiters and industry analysts say.
George Anderson, co-leader of Spencer Stuart’s North American Board Advisory Practice, said boards are responding to changing legal, regulatory and political pressures. He said one driver of the decline in diverse appointments is a shift toward recruiting current and former CEOs, who accounted for 37% of new directors this year, the highest level in 15 years. Companies see those executives as well suited to navigate complexity, but the CEO talent pool is less diverse, he said.
The shift in boardroom appointments coincides with a sharp decline in the number of companies publicly citing diversity as a factor in board recruitment. Some 12% of S&P 500 companies now disclose using some form of diversity criteria in board decisions, down from 23% in 2025, when President Donald Trump began his second term, and 48% in 2024 under President Joe Biden, according to data for this year provided to Reuters by PeopleReturn, a human resources analytics firm. PeopleReturn shows board diversity peaked at nearly 50% this year.
Supporters say the initiatives help expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged groups and improve governance and decision-making, while Trump and other critics say they discriminate against white people and men and undermine merit-based advancement.
Kristin Hull, chief investment officer of Nia Impact Capital, which often lobbies tech companies on social issues, says the decline in appointments reflects a return to male-dominated corporate leadership.
“We were making such progress,” she said. “Now the bro culture is alive and well.”
However, conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who has pushed companies, including Tractor Supply
(TSCO.O)
and John Deere
(DE.N)
, to roll back DEI in several high-profile social media campaigns, has welcomed the change.
“They were focused on all the wrong things, and it shows in their earnings,” he said. Neither company returned requests for comment.
Asked about the rollback of corporate diversity programs, White House spokeswoman Allison Schuster said Trump “was resoundingly elected with a mandate to end divisive, racist policies and restore merit and efficiency.”
‘OUR COUNTRY WILL BE WOKE NO LONGER’
Under Trump, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, created under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, has been tasked with rooting out what the administration calls illegal DEI practices that it says gave preferential treatment to women and racial minorities in hiring and promotions.
Many companies scrapped or reassessed their diversity initiatives before Trump’s second term after the Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that it was illegal to consider race in college admissions. Though the decision didn’t cover corporate practices, it set off a cascade of legal threats against companies over a range of diversity initiatives.
Trump last year issued executive orders restricting certain DEI programs among federal contractors and within the federal government, then declared “our country will be woke no longer.”
The Trump administration is threatening hefty fines for companies that do not comply.
IBM
(IBM.N)
in April
agreed to pay $17 million
to resolve allegations it discriminated against some employees and failed to comply with Trump’s orders
calling
DEI initiatives illegal for federal contractors.
The U.S. Justice Department alleged IBM prioritized diverse candidates in hiring, tying bonuses to hitting certain demographic targets in employment decisions. IBM, which was the first U.S. company to face action under Trump’s anti-DEI directive over its employment practices, did not return requests for comment.
Shareholders, however, have shown little appetite for proposals seeking to weaken DEI. Three shareholder proposals put forward by conservatives targeting corporate DEI efforts won just 1.5%
support on average
at annual meetings in recent months, a typical rate.
BOARD RECRUITMENT SHIFTS AWAY FROM DIVERSITY
Even as overall board diversity remains near record levels, Reuters interviews with more than a dozen recruiters, investors and employees signaled companies are placing less emphasis on diversity in board recruitment.
That shift is evident at many companies that championed diversity initiatives after the #MeToo movement and the 2020 protests over the police killing of George Floyd, including
Johnson & Johnson
(JNJ.N)
,
Goldman Sachs
and American Express
(AXP.N)
.
Goldman early last year dropped its requirement that companies it took public have at least two diverse board members, citing “legal developments” weeks after Trump signed his first executive order targeting diversity initiatives. A Goldman spokesperson said the firm still believes diversity enhances its performance and is critical to its financial success. J&J and Amex didn’t return requests for comment.
INVESTOR RETREAT EASES PRESSURE FOR BOARD DIVERSITY
PeopleReturn CEO Josh Ramer said a retreat from DEI by top asset managers such as BlackRock
(BLK.N)
, Vanguard and State Street
(STT.N)
eased pressure on companies to diversify their boards.
“All the big investors that were pushing for this have completely stopped mentioning it. Large-cap executives feel a lot less pressure to be talking about this,” he said.
The fund managers’ previous policies required some measure of diversity on company boards where they held stock. BlackRock, for instance, in late 2021 called for boards to be
30% diverse
, while in 2022 Vanguard called for diversity of gender, race and ethnicity “at a minimum.”
Both companies, however, stripped out that language last year. State Street dropped its expectation in February 2025 that women comprise at least 30% of major company boards.
All three asset managers declined to comment for this story.
In the C-suite, recruiters say diversity now carries less weight in executive searches. Women and racial minorities made up
roughly 22%
of all S&P 500 CEOs last year, down from 23% the year before, according to Spencer Stuart.
Spencer Stuart and PeopleReturn tracked race, ethnicity and gender of the board members based on self-identified information, supplemented by outside sources and other research.
“Today we hear more about ‘the best person.’ There’s less currency for being a person of color than there once was,” said Jeff Christian, CEO of executive headhunting firm Christian & Timbers.
Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston, Bianca Flowers in Chicago and Simon Jessop in London; Editing by Dawn Kopecki and Howard Goller