(Reuters) – From Google to Target, many major U.S. companies have dropped or considered altering their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies following President Donald Trump’s executive order to curtail such programs at the federal and private level.
Even before Trump took office, big corporations were under increasing pressure from conservative groups to cut back on DEI policies aimed at boosting racial and ethnic representation at the workplace.
Here are some of the companies that have already scrapped their DEI policies or are facing pressure to pare back such programs:
Company Statement
Starbucks In March, the coffee giant’s shareholders voted
for an executive compensation plan that dropped
a bonus related to DEI goals.
Tractor The company in late June said that it would no
Supply longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign
(HRC), which advocates for LGBTQ rights.
Tractor Supply also said it would eliminate DEI
roles and retire its current DEI goals.
Deere The company said in July it would not
participate in or support external social or
cultural awareness parades, festivals, or
events. The farm equipment maker also
reaffirmed that the existence of diversity
quotas and pronoun identification have never
been and are not company policy.
Harley-David In August, the motorcycle manufacturer said it
son would not participate in the HRC survey and had
ended its DEI initiatives.
Brown-Forman The Jack Daniel’s maker said it would ensure
executive incentives and employee goals are
tied to business performance, end participation
in the HRC survey and scrap its quantitative
workforce and supplier diversity goals.
Lowe’s The home improvement chain will no longer
participate in HRC surveys and will combine its
various business resource groups that represent
diverse employees into one umbrella
organization. Lowe’s said in August it would
not sponsor or participate in community events
such as parades, festivals, or fairs.
Ford Motor The automaker said it will change its DEI
program, including ending participation in an
LGBTQ advocacy group’s ranking system.
Molson Coors The beer maker said it will end participation
Beverage in the HRC index, and will tie executive
incentives to business performance and not
aspirational representation goals beginning
this year.
Boeing The planemaker has dismantled its global
diversity, equity and inclusion department
according to Bloomberg News. Boeing’s diversity
vice president Sara Liang Bowen announced in
October on LinkedIn that she had left the
company.
Walmart The retail bellwether will no longer consider
race and gender to boost diversity when
granting supplier contracts and is scaling back
racial equity training. Walmart is also
stopping participation in rankings by HRC and
also reviewing its support for Pride and other
events.
Meta The social media company ended its DEI
Platforms programs, including those for hiring, training
and picking suppliers.
Amazon.com The ecommerce giant was “winding down outdated
programs and materials” as part of a review of
hundreds of initiatives, according to a memo
sent to employees in December.
McDonald’s The fast-food chain is retiring its goal for
diversity in corporate leadership and shifting
away from some diversity practices. McDonald’s
also said the company’s diversity team will now
be called its “global inclusion team.”
Apple The iPhone maker’s board recommended investors
vote against a shareholder proposal by National
Center for Public Policy – a conservative
think-tank – to abolish the company’s DEI
programs.
Target The big-box retailer said in January it was
ending its DEI program and Racial Equity
Action and Change (REACH) initiatives this
year, which included plans to add more than 500
Black-owned brands.
Vanguard The top mutual fund manager Vanguard removed a
statement from its 2024 policy that, in
addition to having a diversity of tenure and
skills, a board should also, “at a minimum,
represent diversity of personal
characteristics, inclusive of at least
diversity in gender, race, and ethnicity.”
Google Alphabet’s Google is scrapping its goal to hire
more employees from underrepresented groups and
is reviewing some DEI initiatives.
Accenture The company will start “sunsetting” the
diversity goals it implemented in 2017, along
with career development programs for “people of
specific demographic groups” after an
evaluation of the changing U.S. political
landscape.
Goldman The Wall Street giant has dropped
Sachs an entire section dedicated to “diversity and
inclusion” from its annual filing released on
Thursday.
Institutiona The top proxy adviser will no longer consider
l the gender, racial, or ethnic diversity of U.S.
Shareholder company boards when making its voting
Services recommendations.
BlackRock The world’s largest asset manager recently
eliminated a 30% diversity target for boards
from late 2021.
Walt Disney The media giant is tweaking its DEI programs to
focus more closely on business outcomes.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Devika Syamnath)
