Just a few years ago, major companies ostentatiously adopted diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in response to the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide racial reckoning that followed. Now, some of those same companies are now backtracking on their DEI efforts—or doing away with their programs entirely.
The shift began with the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in 2023 that overturned affirmative action in the college admissions process. That was followed by an increasing cultural backlash in conservative circles against DEI policies, a phenomenon that can trace its origins from legal activist like Edward Blum to modern figureheads like Robby Starbuck.
Several companies changed or shut down their DEI programs in 2024, including Boeing and Ford. But anti-DEI sentiment reached a whole new level with the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January. This year, his executive orders have ended DEI programs in the federal government, and are crafted in a way to prompt private sector companies to destroy their programs and policies. Federal contractors have also been targeted.
While some companies have made public statements regarding their DEI policies, others are quietly making changes behind the scenes. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to getting rid of DEI, but the backpedalling within corporate America is impossible to ignore.
These are the major companies that have recently made changes to their DEI programs.
Tractor Supply
Tractor Supply announced in June of 2024 that it was cutting its DEI programs after facing backlash from a group of conservative activists led by Robby Starbuck. The retailer said in its statement that in addition to eliminating DEI roles and goals, it would no longer support or sponsor “nonbusiness activities like Pride festivals and voting campaigns.” The company also announced that it would be withdrawing their carbon emission goals.
Tractor Supply did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Deere and Co.
In July of 2024, farm equipment manufacturer John Deere announced that it would no longer be participating in or supporting “cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events,” such as Pride. They also promised to remove “socially motivated messages” from all-company mandated training materials.
Deere and Co. did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Ford
Ford Motors announced that it was in the process of amending its DEI policies in August of 2024, although the company said some of the changes had already begun prior. These include ceasing participation in external diversity surveys and evolving their employee resource groups (ERGs) to focus on “networking, mentorship, personal and professional development, and community service,” according to an internal memo sent to employees by CEO Jim Farley and reviewed by Fortune. A Ford Motor Company spokesperson told Fortune that the ERG transition began in 2023, while the company’s decision to withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index was made in early 2024.
A company spokesperson told Fortune: “Ford remains committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees.”
Lowe’s
The home improvement retailer announced in an internal memo in August of 2024 that it would not be participating in external diversity surveys, or sponsoring events or parades that are not within its business areas. The company also announced that it was combining its employee resource groups, which were originally for “individual groups representing diverse sections of our associate population,” into one umbrella group. Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck took credit at the time for the company’s policy rollback. However, that claim was refuted by a company spokesperson.
Lowe’s did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Harley Davidson
Harley Davidson clarified their DEI policies in August 2024, after receiving public pressure from Starbuck and other conservative activists. In a statement posted to social media platform X, the motorcycle manufacturer wrote that it had not operated a DEI function since April 2024. It also said that moving forward, their Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) will focus solely on professional development and networking, and that the company will not be participating in Human Rights Campaign scoring going forward. They added that they do not have hiring quotas, and no longer have supplier diversity goals. All training will also be “related to the needs of the business and be absent of socially motivated content.”
Harley Davidson did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Walmart
The world’s largest retailer said it would be rolling back its DEI initiatives in November 2024, just a few weeks after the U.S. presidential election. A company spokesperson confirmed to Fortune that it would not be renewing their $100 million, five-year commitment to the Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity, which was formed in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. However, the spokesperson clarified that the center will run through mid-2025. Walmart also confirmed to the AP that they would prohibit the sale of products that the company deemed inappropriate for youth, such as chest binders, which are designed to make the chest area look flatter. The Arkansas-based retailer also said they would no longer be participating in Human Rights Campaign surveys.
A Walmart spokesperson told Fortune that “we continue to operate with a focus on living our values of respect, integrity, service and excellence. We remain committed to creating a culture where everyone can be successful, and ensuring we are a Walmart for everyone.”
Boeing
In November of 2024, Boeing dismantled its global diversity, equity, and inclusion department. Bloomberg first reported that the company would be redirecting DEI staff to another HR team focused on talent and employee experience. Sara Liang Bowen, who led the department, also left the company at that time. She wrote in a farewell Linkedin post that her team “strived every day to support the evolving brilliance and creativity of our workforce.”
Boeing did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Amazon
Amazon has scrubbed mentions of DEI from its latest annual report. In 2023, the company explicitly mentioned its focus on diversity and inclusion within the “Human Capital” section of the report.
In December of 2024, Candi Castleberry, Amazon’s vice president of inclusive experiences and technology, sent a memo to employees detailing the company’s ethos moving forward. In the memo, which an Amazon spokesperson shared with Fortune, Castleberry acknowledged that the company was “winding down outdated programs and materials” and focusing on “programs with proven outcomes,” though the memo did not specify what those programs are.
PepsiCo
PepsiCo. recently eliminated language referencing DEI in its annual report. In its 2023 report, the food and beverage company stated that it “believe[s] that our culture of diversity, equity and inclusion is a competitive advantage that fuels innovation, enhances our ability to attract and retain talent and strengthens our reputation.” However, one year later, the only mention of diversity is related to a board committee focused on “sustainability, diversity, and public policy matters.”
PepsiCo. did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
Meta
In mid-January of 2025, Meta announced in an internal memo that it was terminating its DEI programs, including those involved in hiring, training and choosing suppliers. Janelle Gale, vice president of people, attributed the pivot to the “shifting legal and policy landscape” regarding DEI. The major changes includes: eliminating the company’s DEI team and getting rid of the “Diverse Slate Approach” to hiring, which is used to create a diverse candidate pool for open positions, pivoting from focusing on supplier diversity to supporting “small and medium businesses,” and eliminating equity and inclusion training programs.
In the same memo, Meta announced that Maxine Williams, the company’s chief diversity officer, would be transitioning to a role focused on “accessibility and engagement.”
A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment.
Target
On Jan. 24 of this year, shortly after President Trump was inaugurated, the retailer announced that it was scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, known as the “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy. The rollback includes the elimination of three-year diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, transitioning the “supplier diversity” team into the “supplier engagement” team with an increased focus on small businesses, and stopping all participation in external diversity surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
Target did not reply to Fortune’s request for comment.
McDonald’s
The fast food chain announced in January of 2025 that the company would be getting rid of diversity hiring targets, pausing participation in external diversity surveys, and renaming its diversity team the “Global Inclusion Team.” Company leaders wrote in a letter to shareholders that many of these decisions were spurred by the Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action, as well as the actions of fellow companies regarding their own DEI practices.
While the company will not be participating in external diversity surveys, it will continue to report demographic information in an annual Purpose and Impact report, according to leadership. However, the company is maintaining its annual incentive plan for senior leaders tied to efforts that drive employee engagement and values, including inclusion.
“Our success is directly tied to our commitment to inclusion—that’s why we open our doors to everyone,” McDonald’s chief inclusion officer Suheily Davis wrote in a statement to Fortune. “That isn’t changing—and we remain focused on continuing our good work and driving progress so that our brand continues to reflect the millions of people in communities we serve around the world daily.”
Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs announced in February of 2025 that it was ending its diversity pledge, which it adopted in 2020, and stated that the investment bank would only take a company public in the U.S. or Western Europe if it included two diverse board members, one of whom must be a woman.
“As a result of legal developments related to board diversity requirements, we ended our formal board diversity policy. We continue to believe that successful boards benefit from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, and we will encourage them to take this approach,” said Tony Fratto, spokesperson for Goldman Sachs.
A spokesperson for the company told Fortune that while the formal policy has ended, Goldman Sachs will still operate a placement service that connects its clients with diverse candidates to serve on their boards.
Accenture
On Feb. 6, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet informed employees in an internal memo, viewed by Fortune, that the company would be “sunsetting” its diversity and inclusion targets. Sweet also confirmed that the company would be ending its career development programs for “people of specific demographic groups” and pause its participation in external diversity surveys. She wrote in the memo that these decisions were made following “an evaluation of internal policies and practices and the evolving landscape in the United States, including recent executive orders with which we must comply.”
The letter did note, however, that the company will continue to report their workforce demographics publicly.
Deloitte
The accounting and consulting firm’s U.S. arm told employees in February it would be abandoning its diversity goals, a yearly DEI report, as well as its DEI programming. Additionally, Deloitte US requested that employees working on government contracts remove gender pronouns from their email signatures. The firm’s UK arm, on the other hand, has made clear that it will be sticking with its commitment to diversity, stating that DEI “remains a priority” despite the change of course from its US counterpart.
A spokesperson for Deloitte declined to comment further.
Disney
On Feb. 11, Disney sent a letter to employees outlining the changes it would be making to its DEI policies. The letter, sent by the company’s chief human resources officer, Sonia Coleman, outlines the shifts, including replacing an executive compensation performance metric related to “diversity and inclusion” with “talent strategy,” which focuses more broadly on how values drive business goals. The letter stated that the company will also be streamlining its “Business Employee Resource Groups" to “Belonging” Employee Resource Groups" in an effort to focus on “strengthening our employee community and workplace experience.”
The entertainment conglomerate is getting rid of its “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, which was initially created to uplift stories and talent from underrepresented communities. The initiative, which was included in the company’s 2023 annual report, was omitted from this year’s filing.
The entertainment powerhouse is also walking back content disclaimers that were introduced in 2020. The company had previously added auto-play content advisories before certain films, including “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan,” which stated: “This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.” Now, they will include a shortened advisory in the details section of the film which reads: “this program is presented as originally created and may contain stereotypes or negative depictions.”
Google
The tech giant is eliminating its targets to hire more workers from historically underrepresented groups. It also omitted a statement from its latest annual report, also referred to as a 10-K, that the company is “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.” Similar sentences were included in annual reports for 2023, 2022, and 2021.
In February, the company reportedly removed Black History Month and Pride Month from a list of holidays recognized by Google Calendar. A Google spokesperson told CNBC that the company began implementing the calendar changes in the middle of 2024, stating that “maintaining hundreds of moments manually and consistently wasn’t scalable or sustainable.”
A Google spokesperson told Fortune: “We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there. We’ve updated our 10-K language to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic.”
