Corporate DEI Index sees 65% drop in participation compared to Fortune 500

New research by the LGBTQ+ Human Rights Campaign shows a sharp decline in Fortune 500 companies willing to publicly disclose their diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.

The HRC’s 2026 Corporate Equality Index saw a 65% drop in participation this year, falling from 377 Fortune 500 companies in 2025 to just 131 in 2026. The HRC noted that many of the companies that opted out had federal contracts.

“Our research shows the power and pressure of this moment on LGBTQ+ workers, consumers, and businesses who rely on us,” HRC President Kelly Robinson said in a statement.

Of the companies that participated — which included more than 500 — 534 received a score of 100, representing nearly 6 million U.S. employees, according to HRC.

The HRC Index was launched in 2002 and ranks companies based on their social responsibility and equality in the workplace.

Over the past two years, the anti-DEI movement, sponsored by the White House, has begun to recast the index, making it a conservative target.

The Corporate Equality Index has seen increasingly more companies fall out of its orbit, starting with Supply of tractors Including big names like Walmart, Ford and Louie. Walmart, the largest US retailer and grocer, said it held talks with conservative activist Robbie Starbuck, who has publicly called for a shift away from DEI, before the company pulled out.

It was a big change from previous years, when companies like Ford and Walmart issued public statements supporting DEI and touting their accomplishments in their workplaces.