In the past year, all sorts of companies have retreated from their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, from “masculine” brands like John Deere and Harley-Davidson to massive companies like Walmart and McDonald’s. Many of these moves have followed public pressure and boycotts (namely a social media campaign mounted by conservative activist Robby Starbuck), but have also been catalyzed by a shifting legal and political climate after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in 2023.
Now some of the biggest players in the tech industry—which has long touted the value of diversity, equity, and inclusion—are making similar cuts to their diversity initiatives. Within the past few days, both Meta and Amazon have confirmed significant changes to their DEI programs. These decisions may seem, in part, politically motivated: Last week, Meta also relaxed its hate speech policies, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with President-elect Donald Trump.
But as Fast Company has previously reported, the tech industry has been quietly divesting from DEI work for some time now, as layoffs have targeted those teams and companies have failed to make meaningful progress on the commitments they made in 2020. Large tech employers like Google and Meta have chipped away at their DEI work in recent years, trimming headcount and scaling down programs focused on the recruitment and career development of underrepresented workers.
At the same time, some of the changes companies are making to their corporate diversity programs seem designed to rebrand the work and move away from the language of DEI, which has become a political football and target of lawsuits by right-wing activists. Since 2023, companies like J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs have made changes to their DEI policies in response to the threat of legal action; others have stopped using certain DEI terms like equity. Meta acknowledged this was driving some of its DEI changes when the company noted that the “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” per an internal memo obtained by Axios.
(Meta, Apple, Google, and Microsoft declined to comment on the record when Fast Company asked about current or planned changes to DEI programs. Meta has confirmed that the company is dissolving many of its DEI initiatives.)
Here’s a closer look at the scope of the recent DEI cuts, and what they could mean for the future of diversity work at Big Tech companies:
Meta
According to Axios, Meta will no longer have a team that explicitly works on DEI. Chief diversity officer Maxine Williams—who has been at the company for more than a decade—will move into a new role on the accessibility and engagement team. In an internal memo, HR chief Janelle Gale wrote, “The term ‘DEI’ has . . . become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.” Gale also noted that the company will be revamping its DEI training programs to focus instead on “how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background.”
Meta has said that it will no longer prioritize sourcing suppliers from diverse businesses and is also changing its approach to hiring. While Meta will no longer employ its “diverse slate” approach to hiring—which ensured a diverse set of candidates were considered for each role—the company will “continue to source candidates from different backgrounds.”
Perhaps most notably, however, Meta says it will no longer have representation goals—something many large tech companies introduced a decade ago when they started publishing diversity reports. But this isn’t actually a new change: Meta claims to have already eliminated representation goals for women and ethnic minorities. “Having goals can create the impression that decisions are being made based on race or gender,” Gale wrote. “While this has never been our practice, we want to eliminate any impression of it.” This framing indicates that Meta is making some of these changes explicit to protect against legal liability—and, it seems, to distance itself from the term DEI.
Amazon
Last week, Amazon revealed it had already been making changes to its DEI programs, though the company has not made clear exactly what that entailed. As Bloomberg recently reported, the changes were disclosed in a year-end memo by HR executive Candi Castleberry, who said Amazon had evaluated hundreds of programs across the company and would be “winding down outdated programs and materials” by the end of 2024.
“Rather than have individual groups build programs, we are focusing on programs with proven outcomes—and we also aim to foster a more truly inclusive culture,” she added. Castleberry was previously the head of global diversity, equity, and inclusion at Amazon, but her title changed in 2023, along with the name of the department. (Castleberry is now the VP of inclusive experiences and technology.)
Amazon still has employee resource groups in place (which some employers have recently eliminated or restructured), but the company has altered its public language on diversity. On a page that outlines its positions, Amazon removed sections that focused on “Equity for Black people” and “LGBTQ+ rights,” as well as specific references to transgender rights.
Prior to this change, the page had clearly stated the company’s support for legislation that addressed “misconduct and racial bias in policing, efforts to protect and expand voting rights, and initiatives that provide better health and educational outcomes for Black people,” as well as protections for the transgender community. There was also a mention of the gender transition benefits offered at Amazon, which has since been removed. (The Washington Post reported that some employees were concerned whether that shift could impact access to benefits, though Amazon has said those benefits are still in place.)
Amazon did not comment on specific cuts to its DEI programs, but spokesperson Kelly Nantel told Fast Company that the positions page is edited “from time to time to ensure that it reflects updates we’ve made to various programs and positions.”
Amazon is, however, still using the language of DEI to some degree: A section on its positions page titled diversity, equity, and inclusion claims that the company is “committed to creating a diverse and inclusive company that helps us build the best range of products and services for our broad customer base. . . . We also believe that inequitable treatment of anyone—including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others—is unacceptable, and we advocate for policies designed to remove barriers to equity and create an inclusive environment for all employees.”
In her memo, Castleberry also suggested Amazon was still committed to diversity work: “We believe this is important work, so we’ll keep investing in programs that help us reflect those audiences, help employees grow, thrive, and connect, and we remain dedicated to delivering inclusive experiences for customers, employees, and communities around the world.”
Apple
Apple is currently facing a shareholder proposal that aims to undermine its DEI programs, brought by the same conservative think tank that recently submitted a similar proposal at Costco (where it was rejected). The group is taking aim at Apple’s diversity policies, arguing that DEI poses “litigation, reputational, and financial risks to companies.”
So far, however, the company has stood its ground, citing its “well-established compliance program” and arguing that the proposal “inappropriately attempts to restrict” its business operations. Apple’s board has urged shareholders to vote against the proposal during the company’s annual meeting in February.
“At Apple, we believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple’s success as making the best products in the world,” the board said in a proxy filing. “We seek to conduct business ethically, honestly, and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and our Business Conduct and Compliance policies are foundational to how we do business. And we strive to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work.”
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