2025 - Status of Supplier Diversity

🌍 The state of supplier diversity region by region.

Today we drop our updated 2025 Global Supplier Diversity Heatmap, covering the UK, EMEA, USA, and APAC.

• Where’s progress accelerating?

• Where’s it stalling?

• And what does it all mean for the future of inclusive procurement?

Last year the USA heat map stood out, head and shoulders, above the rest with most it the map's themes beaming a vibrant green. But today things have changed given the election of Dona Trump, political state of DEI and Affirmative action in the USA, in summary:

🇬🇧 UK: Progress, but pockets of resistance remain.

🇪🇺 EMEA: Growing optimism, with emerging partners leading the way on social value.

🇺🇸 USA: Still leading, but huge signs of rollback.

🌏 APAC: Early stages, growing interest with visible, measurable actions of commitment.

🔴 Red = Growing pushback or rollback

USA

• Supplier diversity & DEI under pressure: Major U.S. corporations, including Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart, Amazon, Target, Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and others, have scaled back or ended supplier diversity and broader DEI initiatives. These rollbacks reflect a shifting political and legal landscape, spurred by federal-level executive orders and Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action.

• Private sector decline: Reuters notes Black women entrepreneurs hit hardest by these changes, especially as large DEI programs are withdrawn.

• Public vs. private divide: Although federal and big corporate DEI efforts have waned, surveys show ~49% of supply‑chain organizations still have formal DEI goals, and ~70% of companies maintain supplier diversity programs overall. This mix of rollback and resilience put the U.S. in Red, as momentum stalls..

🟡 Amber = Mixed progress & cautious adaptation

UK & EMEA

• More deliberate than the U.S.: Outside the U.S., UK and European firms have tempered aggressive DEI initiatives, pivoting towards inclusion, culture, wellbeing, and ESG metrics.

• Corporate engagement increasing: Groups like MSDUK report rising corporate participation in supplier diversity, shifting program ownership from U.S. HQs to regional teams, enhancing local relevance and impact.

• Regulatory backing: EU governance, such as CSRD, and mandated support for minority suppliers also supports a more strategic, data-driven approach than in the U.S.

• Fragmented maturity: While some industries (pharma, tech, facilities) are advanced, others still lack structured investment and outcomes tracking.

🇬🇧 UK / EMEA Status: Amber

🟢 Green = Growth & strategic embedding

APAC & Other Regions (e.g., Australia, India, South Africa)

• Supplier diversity on the rise: Global expansion of programs into APAC, with several countries mandating or incentivizing minority supplier engagement.

• Tech enabler: ~66% of corporations now use supplier-diversity platforms and portals, and 63% plan to increase budgets .

• Strong future outlook: 82% see growth potential in 1–2 years; many adding new diverse categories (LGBTQ+, disability, veterans)  .

APAC & broader Global South: Green.

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About Us

"Finding Diverse Suppliers is time-consuming as the process today involves researching against multiple databases."

Founded in 2019, Kaleida International is a B2B marketplace for Tenders connecting Buyers to Suppliers, and Diverse Suppliers. With a focus on helping the Chief Procurement Office achieve its ESG goals, and alerting companies to new revenue opportunities, Kaleida's fully-inclusive platform helps Buyers find, identify and assess Diverse Suppliers they can invite to Tender.

In 2025 Kaleida will publish £800b in both Public and Private sector tenders for suppliers, and Diverse suppliers to apply to. By increasing access to commercial opportunity, we believe we can drive equality through providing access to economic parity.