- Many companies have pulled back or ended DEI programs amid pressure from conservative activists and a new administration.
- Those that have withdrawn or toned down DEI initiatives include Google, Amazon, Meta, and McDonald’s.
- President Trump moved to end DEI initiatives at federal agencies shortly after his return to the White House.
The number of companies ending their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs continues to grow.
Google and consulting giant Accenture are some of the most recent examples, joining companies including Meta and Amazon in announcing the rollback of DEI initiatives.
In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end diversity programs across the federal government and ordered all federal DEI staffers be placed on leave while their departments are disbanded.
The move away from DEI policies is part of an ongoing wave of backlash against diversity programs at American companies.
Tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom cut DEI programs last year, and law firms, including Winston & Strawn, faced lawsuits for affirmative action.
Some DEI initiatives have faced backlash from conservatives and activist groups, including mounting social media campaigns, many led by Robby Starbuck. Starbuck, a prominent conservative activist with a sizable social media following, has argued that these initiatives don’t align with the values of companies’ largely conservative consumer bases.
That said, 59% of Americans oppose Trump’s move to end federal efforts to promote the hiring of women and members of racial minority groups, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll in January. Some companies, including Costco and JPMorgan, have publicly defended their diversity initiatives.
The Human Rights Campaign slammed companies’ DEI rollbacks in an August statement to BI.
“Decisions to cut DEI initiatives send a clear signal to employees that their employers simply don’t care about equality in the workplace. Putting politics ahead of workers and consumers only hurts the same folks that these businesses rely on,” wrote Eric Bloem, the nonprofit group’s vice president of programs and corporate advocacy.
Here are how some companies have cut their DEI programs.
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