Topline
Deutsche Bank joined other big banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, in defending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs on Thursday, contrasting the growing wave of companies and organizations rolling back their diversity policies—which now includes Target, Amazon and Meta—as President Donald Trump has already made eliminating DEI a central focus.
Trump has targeted diversity, equity and inclusion in multiple executive orders. (Photo by Anna … [+]
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Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said at a press conference Thursday the company stands “firmly behind” its “integral” DEI programs, stating the company can “see how Deutsche Bank has benefited from it,” making it the latest bank to defend DEI after conservative groups filed shareholder proposals at various banks urging them to review their diversity policies.
The Washington Post reported the Smithsonian Institution told employees its diversity office is closing as a “first step” to address Trump’s new federal policy that declared DEI programs as “dangerous” and “demeaning,” and as of Tuesday afternoon the link to the institution’s 2022 diversity and inclusion initiatives report and link to its equal employment opportunity policy were broken.
Trump signed an executive order eliminating DEI offices and policies within the military, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, which he considered to be “race-based and sex-based discrimination,” and in a separate executive order, effectively reinstated his 2017 ban on transgender troops, banning “identification-based pronoun usage” and prohibiting troops assigned male at birth from using women’s bathing or sleeping facilities.
Target, which had already curbed its LGBTQ Pride merchandise line in response to conservative backlash, announced it would pull back on racial hiring targets, end its Racial Equity Action and Change program and cease participation in external diversity surveys, with chief community impact and equity officer Kiera Fernandez telling employees in a memo the decisions were made based on “many years of data” and an effort to stay “in step with the evolving external landscape.”
Costco shareholders overwhelmingly voted to reject a proposal that would have obligated the company to review the potential risks of maintaining its DEI initiatives, with more than 98% of shareholders voting against the proposal.
Conservative 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.”).
In an executive order issued on the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump ordered the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government—but it has also threatens to punish some private entities, like public companies, non-profits and universities, that use them.
The 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.
Amazon 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).
Meta 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.”
McDonald’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.
Walmart 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.
Boeing 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.
Molson 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.
Lowe’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.
Ford 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.”
Jack 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.”
Harley-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.”
Farm 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.
What Are Ceos—and Trump—saying About Dei At Davos?
Several business leaders addressed diversity, equity and inclusion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, while Trump railed against it in his speech on Thursday. In his address, Trump said his administration is moving to “abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion nonsense” in both the government and the private sector, and said the United States will become a “merit-based country.” But some CEOs who attended the forum this week defended the practice, CNBC reported, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who said his company will “continue to reach out to the Black community and Hispanic community, LGBT community, and the veteran community.” Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman said attitudes toward diversity “come and go with different political cycles” and her company will continue to value “diversity of views and diversity of backgrounds.” Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith said “diversity is a great thing in business,” stating diverse teams are more productive. Reuters spoke with three unnamed tech executives at Davos, all of whom run companies that have contracts with the U.S. government, who said their companies would not abandon DEI, though they may need to find new words to describe their diversity efforts as the term “DEI” becomes more politically charged. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan told Reuters diversity has “commercial logic,” while Bain & Company executive Alexander Schmitz said private equity firms that roll back DEI will likely have a “problem in fundraising.” Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley slammed DEI at Davos, stating companies are “pulling back from DEI and I welcome that” because Americans “don’t want to be a label.”
What Has Trump Said About Dei Programs?
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.
Contra
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.”
What Is The National Center For Public Policy Research?
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.
Why Are Dei Policies Under Attack?
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.
Who Is Robby Starbuck?
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.
Chief Critics
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.
Key Background
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.
Further Reading
Costco is pushing back — hard — against the anti-DEI movement (CNN)
What is DEI and why is it dividing America? (CNN)
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