Trump Cuts Federal DEI Programs With Executive Order: Here Are The Organizations Ending Diversity Programs (Full List) – Forbes
Conservative groups are targeting big banks in a push to get them to eliminate their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the Wall Street Journal reported, as conservative backlash toward DEI policies grows within corporate America and the federal government and organizations renege on their DEI efforts, including the government, as President Donald Trump took aim at federal DEI programs almost immediately after taking office.Trump issued an executive order to gut federal DEI programs within hours of taking office. (Photo by … [+] Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Jan. 22Conservative groups, including the National Legal and Policy Center and 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, while the NLPC and Heritage Foundation urged Bank of America and Citigroup to review whether they have surveilled customers based on religious or political beliefs, the Wall Street Journal reported (A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told the Journal it complies with the law and believes “organizations benefit from diverse perspectives.”).Jan. 20In an executive order issued on the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs—which he called “illegal and immoral discrimination programs”—within the federal government.Jan. 17The FBI confirmed in a statement to Forbes it had closed its DEI office—a —frequent target of attacks by Republicans—in December, prompting President-elect Donald Trump to demand the agency “preserve and retain all records” relating to the shuttered office as he accused the FBI of “corruption” in a Truth Social post.Jan. 10Amazon said it would roll back what it called “outdated programs and materials” in an internal memo, citing employee programs that were established to address a “specific disparity,” though it did not specify what would be discontinued (Amazon operates employee-led resource groups for Black, LGBTQ, women, Indigenous staffers and more).Jan. 10Meta said in a memo the company ended several programs intended to increase its hiring of diverse candidates, including its equity and inclusion training programs, after Janelle Gale, Meta’s vice president of people, said the “legal and policy landscape” surrounding DEI efforts in the U.S. is “changing.”Jan. 6McDonald’s announced it would abandon specific diversity targets, cease participation in external surveys that measure company demographics and would rename its diversity team to “Global Inclusion Team,” citing the Supreme Court decision that ended affirmative action at universities and similar DEI walkbacks by other corporations, though it said it would continue to report demographic information in its own annual report.Nov. 25, 2024Walmart said it would abandon its DEI commitments, including winding down a Center for Racial Equity nonprofit it had founded in 2020 with a $100 million, 5-year commitment, ceasing third-party sellers from offering certain LGBTQ-themed products on its website, no longer participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s external surveys and phasing out the term “diversity, equity and inclusion” in company documents.Nov. 1, 2024Boeing dismantled its global diversity, equity and inclusion department and redirected its staff to its human resources department to focus on talent acquisition and employee experience, Bloomberg reported.Sept. 4, 2024Molson Coors, which had in 2023 defended a feminist-themed ad that sparked conservative backlash, said it would abandon supplier diversity quotas, shift DEI training sessions to focus on business objectives and stop participating in external diversity surveys, despite previously receiving a perfect 100 from the Human Rights Campaign for its LGBTQ policies.Aug. 28, 2024Lowe’s said in an internal memo it would combine its employee resource groups into one umbrella organization, cease participating in HRC surveys and would stop participating in external events like Pride parades.Aug. 28, 2024Ford Motor Co. informed employees it would stop participating in external diversity surveys and would evolve its employee resource groups to focus on networking and mentorship to all employees, citing the evolving “external and legal environment related to political and social issues.”Aug. 22, 2024Jack Daniel’s manufacturer Brown-Forman told employees it would no longer tie executive compensation to DEI progress, remove workforce and supplier diversity goals and cease participating in the HRC index, citing the shifting “legal and external landscape.”Aug. 19, 2024Harley-Davidson said it abandoned its “DEI function” in April and said it does not utilize diversity quotas for hiring or suppliers, and that it would no longer participate in HRC surveys or partner with sponsors that do not focus on its “loyal riding community.”July 16, 2024Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere said it would no longer support “cultural awareness” events like Pride parades and would audit company documents to remove “socially-motivated messages,” adding that diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been company policy, though it said it would continue to internally track employee diversity.In his executive order, Trump slammed the “infiltration” of the federal government with DEI programs, citing an executive order former President Joe Biden issued on his first day in office that directed federal agencies to address racial inequities. Trump’s executive order directs federal government agencies to no longer consider diversity in hiring and revise employee training programs to gut DEI training. The order also demands the elimination of “environmental justice” offices and positions in federal agencies. During his inaugural address, Trump vowed he would “end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” stating he would “forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.” The Office of Personnel Management issued a memo to federal department heads on Tuesday informing them all employees who work in DEI programs must be placed on leave by Wednesday, and the agencies must submit a written plan for dismissing the employees by Jan. 31.Costco has refused to back down from its DEI policies. The company’s board of directors unanimously recommended shareholders vote against a proposal brought by a conservative think tank, the National Center for Public Policy Research, that would require Costco to reevaluate its DEI policies. The board said it “believes that our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary.” Apple’s board similarly urged shareholders to reject a proposal raised by the same think tank, accusing the group of “inappropriately” attempting to “restrict Apple’s ability to manage its own ordinary business operations.” Delta Airlines also said it remains committed to DEI on a Jan. 10 earnings call. Peter Carter, the company’s executive vice president for external affairs, told a reporter the company is not reevaluating DEI or sustainability policies because “they are actually critical to our business,” stating DEI is “about talent and that’s been our focus.” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told Axios “a diverse workforce is better” because “there’s too much business value.” Robbins said the DEI backlash is being treated as a “single issue” when it is really “made up of 150 different things, and maybe seven of them got a little out of hand,” but those few things are “going to get solved and then you’re going to be left with common sense.”A conservative think tank, the group pushes shareholder resolutions at many companies that would roll back corporate DEI and environmental regulations. The group launched its Free Enterprise Project in 2007 to combat what it calls the “woke takeover of American corporate life” through these proposals. Apple previously rebuffed the National Center for Public Policy Research in 2014, when shareholders rejected a resolution that would have forced the company to disclose more about the cost effectiveness of its investments to combat climate change. Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly became visibly angry at the company’s annual meeting when a NCPPR representative asked him questions, stating the company considers more than just profitability when it invests in environmental causes. “If you want me to do things only for [return on investment] reasons, you should get out of this stock,” Cook said.Diversity, equity and inclusion policies—which can include employer-mandated diversity trainings, resource groups for underrepresented minorities and commitments to equity in hiring—swept corporate America after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. But recently, these programs have faced legal and political challenges and a wave of backlash from conservative critics and free speech advocates, who consider DEI policies racist and “woke.” Billionaires Bill Ackman and Elon Musk are among the anti-DEI crusade’s most outspoken advocates. Ackman became DEI’s fiercest crusader last year when he pushed for the eventual resignation of former Harvard University President Claudine Gay after her remarks to Congress about antisemitism on campus following the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel were widely criticized. Ackman, in an essay slamming DEI, claimed he had learned Gay was hired through a Harvard presidential search process that primarily considered candidates who met certain diversity criteria, though a Harvard spokesman said DEI officers had no hiring authority. Many Republican-controlled state legislatures took action against DEI in 2024, with several states, including Alabama, Iowa and Utah banning DEI at public colleges and universities. The wave of conservative backlash against companies deemed “woke” picked up significant steam in 2023 when Bud Light became the target of a conservative boycott after it briefly collaborated with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney for a marketing promotion. The boycott tanked the beer brand’s sales and unleashed a wave of smaller copycat boycotts against companies who engaged in marketing outreach to the LGBTQ communities or voiced commitments to DEI.Robby Starbuck, a former music video director, has led the charge on social media against companies that are committed to DEI policies and has orchestrated public pressure campaigns to get companies to abandon these commitments. Several of the companies that have abandoned DEI policies in recent months were targeted by Starbuck, who encouraged his followers to boycott companies including John Deere, Harley-Davidson and Lowe’s. Starbuck has claimed credit for these policy changes, stating in a post on X in November he had threatened to expose the “wokeness” at Walmart, but claimed he had “productive conversations” with the company that influenced its decision to scale back its DEI efforts. Starbuck again claimed credit for McDonald’s rolling back its DEI policies, posting on X that he had told the company he would publish a “story on woke policies there” three days before it announced its DEI policy changes.The Human Rights Campaign, whose Corporate Equality Index is a frequent casualty of the DEI policy rollbacks, criticized the anti-DEI crusade in its fall 2024 magazine as a “coordinated campaign led by the same actors who have been driving the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislative and legal attacks across the country.” HRC called out Starbuck for “misrepresenting” the Equality Index as a “coercive tool forcing businesses to adopt ‘woke’ policies,” instead clarifying it is a “voluntary, widely respected benchmark for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.” Mark Cuban has frequently defended DEI, stating in April he believes “DEI is a positive because I see its impact on bottom lines,” citing the hundreds of companies he invests in.Some companies slashing their DEI programs have cited the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision, Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, which ruled race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.Costco is pushing back — hard — against the anti-DEI movement (CNN)What is DEI and why is it dividing America? (CNN)One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site’s Terms of Service. We’ve summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:So, how can you be a power user?Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site’s Terms of Service.
