Good, kill it dead. It just divides the country and is a Marxist tactic by Holder and Obama.

Google Calendar no longer marks the start of cultural observances including Pride Month, Black History Month and Women’s History Month, marking the latest major company policy changes in a wave of backlash against DEI that has become a central issue of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Google Calendar no longer marks the start of cultural observances including Women’s History Month. … [+]SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Timeline

Feb. 10Days after it cut diversity hiring goals, a Google spokesperson told CNBC it no longer marks the start of cultural observances like Pride Month and Black History Month because “maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently globally wasn’t scalable or sustainable,” though it said it began making these changes in mid-2024.

Feb. 7NPR first reported more than a dozen companies have pared back, or removed altogether, references to diversity, equity and inclusion in their 2024 annual reports to investors, including Pepsi, GM, Google, Disney, GE, Intel, PayPal, Chipotle and Comcast (GM removed all references to diversity, NPR reported, while Pepsi removed nearly all references after writing in its investor report last year DEI is a “competitive advantage.”)

Feb. 7Professional services company Accenture said it would no longer use diversity targets in hiring and promoting, citing the Trump administration’s push for private companies to roll back DEI goals, the company’s chief executive Julie Sweet said in a memo to staff, Bloomberg reported.

Feb. 7Amazon’s annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for 2024 omitted a section included in the company’s prior annual report, which indicated Amazon has a focus on “inclusion and diversity” in hiring (the news was first reported by CNBC).

Feb. 6The government-funded railroad service Amtrak confirmed to Bloomberg it would roll back its DEI programs and policies, which appeared to include efforts to hire and promote diverse employees and employee resource groups, according to the company’s 2023 diversity report.

Feb. 5Google informed its employees in an email that it will no longer have hiring targets around improving diverse representation among its staff, The Wall Street Journal first reported, and it is evaluating whether to continue other DEI programs and release DEI reports—though it will continue having resource groups for underrepresented staff members.

Jan. 28The 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,” the Washington Post reported, and the link to the institution’s 2022 diversity and inclusion initiatives report and link to its equal employment opportunity policy are broken.

Jan. 24Target, 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.”

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, though it did not specify what would be discontinued, while certain programs aimed at addressing disparities would continue until the disparities are eliminated

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.

Contra

Costco has refused to back down from its DEI policies. The company’s 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. 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.” Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said at a press conference 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. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said at a press conference ahead of Super Bowl LIX the NFL—which requires teams to interview at least two minority candidates for vacant head coach, general manager and coordinator positions as part of its broader commitment to diversity—will continue its diversity efforts “because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, I think we’ve proven … that it does make the NFL better,” and he added: “We’re not in this because it’s a trend to get into it or a trend to get out of it.”

Fuck Costco

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