Target on Friday became the latest company to eliminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals, amid a growing wave of companies that are backing away from these commitments following the election of President Donald Trump.
Trump has already begun eliminating federal DEI programs and criticized the concept at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.
Target, which had already scaled back its LGBTQ Pride product line in response to conservative backlash, announced it will withdraw its racial hiring goals, end its Action and Change for Racial Equity program and stop participating in external diversity surveys. .
Director of community impact and equity Kiera Fernandez told employees in a statement that the decisions were made based on “many years of data” and in an effort to stay “in tune with the changing external landscape.”
January 23: Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would have forced the company to review the potential risks of maintaining its DEI initiatives, with more than 98% of shareholders voting against the proposal.
January 22: Conservative groups, including the National Legal and Policy Center and the National Center for Public Policy Research, have filed shareholder proposals urging Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to review and possibly end their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Additionally, the NLPC and the Heritage Foundation have asked Bank of America and Citigroup to review whether they have monitored clients based on religious or political beliefs, the Wall Street Journal reported (a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told the outlet that it complies with the law and believes that “organizations benefit from diverse perspectives”).
January 20: In an executive order issued on the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of DEI programs within the federal government. It also threatened to sanction some private entities, such as public companies, nonprofit organizations and universities, that use them.
Read: Trump’s attack on diversity and bureaucracy programs puts US agencies in check
January 17: The FBI confirmed in a statement to Forbes that it closed its DEI office—a frequent target of attacks by Republicans—in December, prompting Trump to demand the agency “preserve and retain all records” related to the closed office, while accusing the FBI of “corruption” in a post on Truth Social.
Jan. 10: Amazon announced in an internal memo that it would eliminate what it called “outdated programs and materials,” citing programs established to address a “specific disparity,” though it did not specify which ones would be discontinued (Amazon operates employee-led resource groups for workers black, LGBTQ, women, indigenous and more).
Jan. 10: Meta said in a memo that the company ended several programs aimed at increasing the hiring of diverse candidates, including its equity and inclusion training programs, after Janelle Gale, vice president of people at Meta, noted that the “legal and political landscape” surrounding DEI efforts in the US is “changing.”
January 6: McDonald’s announced that it would abandon specific diversity goals, stop participating in external surveys that measure company demographics and rename its diversity team the “Global Inclusion Team,” citing the Supreme Court decision that put end to affirmative action at universities and similar rollbacks on DEI by other corporations. However, it said it would continue to publish demographic information in its annual report.
Nov. 25, 2024: Walmart said it would abandon its DEI commitments, including closing a nonprofit center for racial equity it had founded in 2020 with a five-year, $100 million commitment. It would also stop allowing third parties to offer certain LGBTQ-themed products on its website, stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s external surveys, and phase out the term “diversity, equity and inclusion” in its corporate documents.
Nov. 1, 2024: Boeing dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department and redirected its staff to the human resources department to focus on talent acquisition and employee experience, Bloomberg reported.
September 4, 2024: Molson Coors, which in 2023 defended a feminist-themed ad that sparked conservative backlash, said it would abandon supplier diversity quotas.
It also announced it would shift DEI training sessions to focus on business goals and stop participating in external diversity surveys, despite previously receiving a perfect score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign for its LGBTQ policies.
Aug. 28, 2024: Lowe’s said in an internal memo that it would combine its employee resource groups into a single umbrella organization, stop participating in HRC surveys and stop participating in external events such as Pride parades.
August 28, 2024: Ford Motor informed its employees that it would stop participating in external diversity surveys and would develop its employee resource groups to focus on networking and mentoring for all employees, citing the changing “environment.” external and legal related to political and social issues.”
August 22, 2024: Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman told employees it would no longer tie executive compensation to DEI progress, eliminate workforce and supplier diversity goals, and stop participating in the HRC index, citing the changing “legal and external landscape.”
August 19, 2024: Harley-Davidson said it abandoned its “DEI function” in April and said it does not use diversity quotas for hiring or suppliers, and would no longer participate in HRC surveys or partner with sponsors who Don’t focus on your “loyal biker community.”
July 16, 2024: Farm equipment maker John Deere said it would no longer support “cultural awareness” events such as Pride parades and would audit company documents to remove “socially motivated messages.”
It added that diversity quotas and identifying pronouns have never been company policy, although it said it would continue to track employee diversity internally.
Read: Trump intensifies his campaign against diversity and puts pressure on the private sector
What do CEOs and Trump say about DEI in Davos?
Several business leaders addressed the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, while Trump spoke out against it during his speech on Thursday.
In his speech, Trump stated that his administration is taking steps to “abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense” in both the government and the private sector, and declared that the United States will become a country based on merit. .
However, some CEOs present at the forum defended these practices, as reported by CNBC. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said his company will continue to “reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community and the veteran community.”
Adena Friedman, CEO of Nasdaq, noted that attitudes toward diversity “come and go with different political cycles,” and that her company will continue to value “diversity of opinion and background.”
Robert Smith, CEO of Vista Equity Partners, stated that “diversity is a great thing in business,” and stated that diverse teams are more productive.
Reuters interviewed three technology executives in Davos, who run companies with contracts with the US government, and they said they would not abandon DEI, although they might need to find new words to describe their diversity efforts, as the term “DEI” becomes more common. is becoming politically controversial.
Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, told Reuters that diversity has a “commercial logic,” while Alexander Schmitz, an executive at Bain & Company, commented that private equity firms that back away from DEI will likely face “problems raising funds”.
Former US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, criticized DEI in Davos, stating that companies are “going backwards on DEI, and I celebrate that” because Americans “don’t want to be a label.”
What has Trump said about DEI programs?
In his executive order, Trump criticized the “infiltration” of the federal government with DEI programs, citing an executive order by former President Joe Biden issued on his first day in office, which directed federal agencies to address racial inequities.
Trump’s order instructs federal government agencies not to consider diversity in hiring and to review training programs to eliminate DEI training. Additionally, it calls for the elimination of “environmental justice” offices and positions in federal agencies.
During his inaugural address, Trump promised to “end the government policy of attempting to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” saying he would forge a society “free of color and based on merit.” .
The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo to federal department heads on Tuesday, informing that all employees working in DEI programs must be furloughed by Wednesday, and agencies must submit a written plan to terminate these employees by on January 31.
Read the full article in Forbes US
Follow us on Google News to always stay informed
