McDonald's corporate Sign. Courtesy photo
On Monday, McDonald’s became the latest employer to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, ending some of its diversity practices – another indication yet of a profound shift taking hold as U.S. companies are re-evaluating their policies following the election of Donald Trump as the nation’s next president.
Four years after launching a push for more diversity in its ranks, the fast food company sent a Our Commitment to Inclusion at McDonald’s note to McDonald's franchise owners, company employees and suppliers worldwide on Jan. 6, citing a Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions and the “shifting legal landscape” in the note.
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Specifically, McDonald’s will introduce a new “’Golden Rule’ - treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always,” according to the note. However, the company has identified “a few practices that we plan to modify.” For instance, “we are evolving how we refer to our diversity team, which will now be the Global Inclusion Team. This name change is more fitting for McDonald’s in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team’s work.”McDonald’s is also “pausing external surveys,” said the memo, which apparently refers to its participation in an annual survey by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index that measures workplace inclusion.
McDonald’s is the latest big employer to shift its tactics in the wake of the 2023 Supreme Court ruling and a conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs. McDonald’s “benchmarked our approach to other companies who are also re-evaluating their own programs,” according to the note. Some of those companies include Walmart, Boeing, Ford, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, which all rolled back their DEI initiatives last year.
Walmart’s announcement last month followed a string of legal victories by conservative groups that have filed an onslaught of lawsuits challenging corporate and federal programs aimed at elevating minority and women-owned businesses and employees.
Related: Walmart is latest – and biggest – employer to roll back its DEI policies: Will more firms follow?
McDonald’s said Monday it will retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels. It also intends to end a program that encourages its suppliers to develop diversity training and to increase the number of minority group members represented within their own leadership ranks.
In contrast to many of these companies, Costco has forcefully rejected a shareholder proposal last week that challenged its DEI policies. The National Center for Public Policy Research has filed a proposal that asks Costco to end its DEI initiatives because they are discriminatory and open the company up to financial and legal risks.
However, Costco’s board is urging shareholders to vote against the NCPPR proposal and has publicly stated its commitment to its DEI programs. The vote at Costco's upcoming annual meeting on January 23 will help determine whether Costco will join Walmart, McDonald's and several other major companies that have taken a stance against DEI initiatives.
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Lynn Cavanaugh
Lynn Varacalli Cavanaugh is Senior Editor, Retirement at BenefitsPRO. Prior, she was editor-in-chief of the What's New in Benefits & Compensation newsletter. She has worked for major firms in the employee benefits space, Vanguard and Willis Towers Watson, as well as top media companies, including Condé Nast and American Media.
