Meta has announced it’s walking back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp said it’s making changes due to a “shifting legal and policy landscape”.
It comes a week after the company said it would remove fact-checking across its platforms.
Meta is the latest in a line of U.S. companies to make similar moves, includingand Walmart.
Meta’s changes to DEI initiatives
In an email to employees first reported by U.S. outlet, the social media company outlined its shift away from DEI programs.
Meta said it would stop hiring people using a “diverse slate approach” — a type of DEI initiative where a recruitment company creates a pool of diverse candidates based on all applicants for a job.
The company said it planned to “continue to source candidates from different backgrounds”.
The statement said Meta would no longer adhere to its “representation goals for women and ethnic minorities [because they] can create the impression that decisions are being made based on race or gender”.
Meta also said it was shutting down its DEI-dedicated team, and moving the head of the team to another role “focused on accessibility and engagement”.
The company said its programs will now focus on “fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all”.
Legal landscape
In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled universities could no longer consider racial and ethnic diversity when selecting incoming students.
This practice, calledwas aimed at correcting historic prejudice.
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It was initially implemented in the U.S. following a previous Supreme Court decision in the 1970s.
In 2014, an organisation called ‘Students for Fair Admissions’ alleged Harvard’s affirmative action practices negatively discriminated against white and Asian American students.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in the students’ favour, effectively banning affirmative action.
Several universities have since cited a decrease in students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
In response to the court’s decision, a number of companies have rolled back their diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Broader shift
Meta now joins several companies to change or walk back DEI programs.
Last week, McDonald’s said it would no longer work towards specific targets of diverse representation in U.S. leadership positions. In a statement, the fast food chain cited a “shifting legal landscape”.
Other major U.S. companies Walmart and Harley Davidson both announced they were pulling out of an annual survey that rates companies based on their inclusion of LGBTQIA+ employees, conducted by Human Rights Watch.
Donald Trump
Both McDonald’s and Meta’s decisions follow the re-election of Donald Trump to the U.S. Presidency.
Trump has been outspoken about his stance against DEI initiatives.
For example, shortly after the 2023 Supreme Court decision to ban affirmative action, Trump said that if he was re-elected, he would eliminate diversity programs in federal government departments.
