“DEI” diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have come under increased scrutiny in 2024, leading at least a dozen major U.S. companies and hundreds of universities to roll back what were once considered innocuous commitments.

“I think it was inevitable,” conservative activist Robby Starbuck told Fox News Digital about the return to DEI this year after DEI surged in popularity four years ago.

“In 2020, a lot of leaders bought into this whole idea and concept of DEI because they just didn’t want to be seen as racist,” he said. “Many of them had no idea or understanding of what it would become.”

DEI, which often involves prioritizing race, gender or sexuality in hiring, training and programming, has been criticized by conservatives as divisive and discriminatory. DEI advocates say these efforts eliminate racial disparities and support groups that have been historically marginalized.

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Large companies that have abandoned DEI in 2024

The private sector’s move away from DEI this year came after companies faced increasing pressure from Starbuck and other conservatives to reconsider those policies.

American Airlines became the latest U.S. company to agree to abandon its diversity hiring practices this month after receiving a legal complaint from conservative watchdog group America First Legal.

“The airline has recognized that recruiting and hiring on the basis of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) violates federal law and equal employment opportunity,” AFL said in a statement.

Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer and private employer, confirmed in November that it would also take DEI steps. These changes included removing third-party sex and transgender products that are inappropriately targeted at children from its online marketplace and ending its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

In a statement to FOX Business, Walmart said it is “ready to transform alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

“We have been on a journey and know we are not perfect, but every decision is based on the desire to foster a sense of belonging, open doors for all of our employees, customers and suppliers, and be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said.

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At least ten other American companies – Ford, Lowe’s, Boeing, Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson, Polaris, John Deere, Tractor Supply Company, Jack Daniel’s and Molson Coors – also reportedly rolled back DEI initiatives earlier this year.

Other companies with large corporate footprints in the US, such as Nissan and Toyota, also agreed to phase out a number of their DEI practices towards the end of 2024.

Starbuck, who led campaigns against “woke” policies at Walmart and several other companies, believes people privately started moving away from DEI about two years ago. But in 2024, it has become more socially acceptable to say out loud that these policies are “toxic,” he said.

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“This was the year that in many ways people were given social permission to just talk about it and admit it. “With every company that goes under, more and more people feel comfortable admitting that they have a problem with it,” Starbuck told Fox News Digital.

Under increasing pressure, universities are abandoning DEI

DEI is also on the rise in universities across the United States.

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, which tracks the “dismantling of DEI” in higher education, 215 college campuses in 32 states have made changes to their DEI policies.

Public universities in several states have closed their DEI offices after lawmakers passed or introduced legislation banning federal funding for DEI.

After the Florida Board of Governors permanently banned the use of taxpayer dollars to fund DEI programs in public schools in January, the University of Florida laid off all employees in DEI positions to comply with the new regulations.

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The University of Texas at Austin also closed its DEI offices to comply with a new state law banning DEI offices at public universities. The anti-DEI law signed by Governor Abbott in 2023 also prevents universities from using diversity statements in hiring practices and training.

According to Inside Higher Ed, Alabama, Iowa and Utah joined Texas and Florida in banning DEI offices at public universities this year.

Kansas and Idaho have also passed laws prohibiting public institutions from requiring diversity statements in hiring or admissions decisions.

Boise State University was one of the last schools to close its equity centers on Nov. 29, followed by the University of Michigan’s elimination of DEI accounting in December as part of its faculty hiring, promotion and tenure requirements.

DEI still has a firm grip on most of America’s top companies

While several top companies retreated from DEI in 2024, the majority of the country’s largest companies still commit to these practices in some form, according to a recent report from the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation.

Heritage examined corporate statements, annual reports and other publicly available documents from all Fortune 500 companies and found that 485 of the top 500 companies continue to maintain DEI priorities.

British car maker Jaguar was among the companies that fell sharply after being criticized for giving its brand a “woke” new direction with its recent rebrand.

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Starbuck knows his fight against the “woke” ideology in America’s top corporations is not over.

Some companies would “do the right thing” by dismantling DEI, he predicted, while others would try to reintroduce it under different names.

“We still have a lot of work to do to get rid of the wiring and the fundamentals here institutionally, because a lot of these things are deeply embedded in our society in ways that most people don’t even understand,” he said.

“DEI is a wounded animal, so expect desperate maneuvers from the people who pushed it,” he continued. “But that means we are at the beginning of his death.”

Fox News’ Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.