DEI: Google joins US firms abandoning diversity recruitment goals

According to a BBC News report, Google has become the latest major U.S. corporation to abandon its goals for hiring more employees from underrepresented groups. This decision was made after the company conducted its annual review of corporate policies, aimed at assessing and adjusting its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) hiring targets.

The tech giant is also reviewing its other DEI programs. This comes after former U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies frequently criticized DEI policies. Since Trump's return to the White House just over two weeks ago, he has ordered government agencies to eliminate such initiatives. These actions reflect the influence of the American political environment on corporate diversity policies.

A Google spokesperson stated, "We are committed to creating a workplace where all employees can succeed and have equal opportunities." The spokesperson also added, "We've updated the wording in our [annual investor report] to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes needed in light of recent court rulings and executive orders on this topic." This indicates that Google is adjusting its strategies in response to the legal and policy landscape.

In recent years, Google has been an outspoken supporter of DEI goals, especially after the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the subsequent protests. At that time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai set a five-year goal to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in its leadership by 30%. According to the company, between 2020 and last year, the proportion of Black people in its leadership nearly doubled. It also stated that the representation of women and Latino people in these positions had also increased.

Google is not the only major company making changes to its diversity policies. Other companies, including Meta, Amazon, PepsiCo, McDonald's, and Walmart, have also scaled back their DEI programs. Bucking the trend, Apple's board of directors last month asked investors to vote against a proposal aimed at ending its diversity policies. The proposal, put forward by the conservative group National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), called on the iPhone maker to abolish its DEI policies, claiming they expose the company to "litigation, reputational, and financial risk."

Last week, retail chain Target was sued by a group of shareholders who claimed the company defrauded them by allegedly concealing risks associated with its DEI policies. The lawsuit cited the backlash in 2023 over its stores' LGBTQ+ merchandise, which led to a drop in both sales and stock price. Target has also recently announced that it will end its DEI goals. The Trump administration also recently implied that DEI contributed to a plane crash in Washington D.C., but provided no evidence.