Google has become the latest big US firm to scrap its goals to recruit more workers from underrepresented groups, BBC News understands.
The decision to abandon the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) recruitment targets comes after the company carried out an annual review of its corporate policies.
The technology giant is also reviewing some of its other DEI programmes.
US President Donald Trump and his allies have regularly attacked DEI policies. Since his return to the White House just over two weeks ago, Trump has ordered government agencies to eliminate such initiatives.
A Google representative stated, “We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities.”
“We’ve updated our [annual investor report] 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.”
The Wall Street Journal broke the story first.
“Diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do” is a commitment Google made in investor reports between 2021 and 2024. Its most recent report, which was released on Wednesday, does not contain that statement.
Google has been a vocal advocate for DEI targets in recent years, especially in the wake of George Floyd’s 2020 murder and the demonstrations that followed.
Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google at the time, set a five-year target to increase the proportion of leaders from underrepresented groups by 30%.
The corporation claims that between 2020 and the previous year, the percentage of Black individuals in its leadership nearly doubled. Additionally, it stated that Latino and female representation in such roles had grown.
The most recent big business to reverse its diversity policies is Google.
DEI programs have been discontinued by Meta, Amazon, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Walmart, and other companies.
Apple has distinguished itself by resisting this tendency. The board of the internet behemoth requested last month that investors vote on a plan to terminate its diversity programs.
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative organization, demanded that the iPhone manufacturer remove its DEI regulations, claiming that they subject businesses to “litigation, reputational, and financial risks.”
A group of shareholders, led by the City of Riviera Beach Police Pension Fund in Florida, filed a lawsuit against the retail chain Target last week, alleging that the company had misled them by failing to disclose the risks connected to its DEI policies.
According to the lawsuit, the company’s stock price and revenues fell in 2023 as a result of a backlash against LGBTQ+ goods at its locations.
ICYMT: Ghana’s 2025 Hajj fare set at GH₵62,000, pilgrim quota increased to 5,000
Additionally, Target just declared that it was discontinuing its DEI targeting.
Last Monday, the US President conjectured—without providing proof—that DEI was responsible for an aircraft accident in Washington, DC, in the most recent instance of the Trump administration’s criticism of such programs.
Less than a day after the crash, the comments aligned with the White House’s efforts to revoke similar programs.
SOURCE: BBC
