Study: AEX firms cut diversity language in annual reports, reversing growth trend

Major companies listed on the Amsterdam Exchange Index (AEX) are increasingly reducing references to diversity and inclusion in their annual reports, marking a reversal after years of steady growth in such language, according to research by the Financieele Dagblad (FD).

The FD analyzed nearly 40,000 pages of English-language annual reports from 27 of the largest companies on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange between 2021 and 2025. Three AEX-listed firms were excluded because they were not yet listed at the start of the period.

The study focused on the 20 most frequently used terms associated with diversity and inclusion, including “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” “gender,” “minority,” and commonly used abbreviations such as “DEI” and “D&I.”

Across the 2025 reports, the word “diversity” appeared 15 percent less often compared with 2024. References to “D&I” dropped even more sharply, declining by 62 percent. The findings reportedly reflect a broader pattern identified in other studies examining language use among major U.S.-listed companies.