How are current political events affecting employee trust in employers?

Employees facing civic uncertainty—redistricting, reproductive rights restrictions, and immigration enforcement—are turning to employers as their primary trust institution. Employers now score 66% trust on discrimination versus 23% for government, creating a 43-point advantage and a mandate for CEOs to address workplac

What percentage of U.S. workers feel their rights are under attack?

According to the American Psychological Association's 2024 Stress in America survey, 64 percent of U.S. adults felt their rights were under attack, with 72 percent worried that election results could lead to violence.

How much do employers outscore government on trust for addressing discrimination?

Employers score 66 percent on trust to address discrimination, while government scores 23 percent—a 43-point gap that is the largest advantage business holds on any question tracked by the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer.

What measurable impact did abortion bans have on medical residency applications?

MD senior applications to OB-GYN residency programs in abortion-ban states dropped 11 percent from 2022 to 2023, twice the decrease in states without restrictions. The following year, applications in ban states dropped another 7 percent while rising in protected states.

Why is inclusion vocabulary alone insufficient for current workplace strategy?

Traditional inclusion frameworks do not address the underlying civic anxiety and erosion of democratic standing that employees are processing. Workers need employers to acknowledge the trust gap government has created and provide institutional stability around fundamental rights.

What percentage of ICE detainees in 2026 had no criminal conviction?

As of April 2026, 70.8 percent of ICE detainees had no criminal conviction. The Cato Institute found only 5 percent had a violent criminal conviction and 73 percent had none at all.

Opinion, The Business Case & Insights

Current Events Are Stressing Everyone Out. The Need Is Far More Than Inclusion. Now Is the Time to Build Trust

May 13, 2026

Shane Nelson

Managing Director

Fair360

Redistricting in Louisiana, Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama is the news headline. The deeper story is what it confirms about the trust environment American workers are now operating inside — and why the strategic vocabulary corporations use to describe their inclusion work needs to evolve to match it.

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Current Events Are Stressing Everyone Out. The Need Is Far More Than Inclusion. Now Is the Time to Build Trust

Shane Nelson

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