Meta Abandons Its DEI Programs Days Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

Just days after announcing it is ditching its controversial fact-checking program, Meta says it will join the list of major corporations that are dropping their DEI programs. In a memo first reported by Axios, Meta’s vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, shared the changes as she said the “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing.”“The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. It reaffirms longstanding principles that discrimination should not be tolerated or promoted on the basis of inherent characteristics,” Ms. Gale said. “The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.”The memo said Meta will “continue to source candidates from different backgrounds,” but it will “stop using the Diverse Slate Approach.” Additionally, the tech giant said it is “sunsetting” its “supplier diversity efforts” that focused on “sourcing from diverse-owned businesses,” and it will instead focus on supporting small to medium-sized businesses.”“Instead of equity and inclusion training programs, we will build programs that focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background,” the memo said.The last change listed in the memo is the elimination of Meta’s DEI team.A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to The New York Sun that the company is winding down its DEI initiatives. The decision to roll back DEI programs was announced days after the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, shared that the company’s fact-checking program would be replaced with a “Community Notes” system, similar to the one used by Elon Musk’s X. Mr. Zuckerberg also said Meta will stop suppressing content about sensitive political topics such as immigration or gender identity. The decision to drop the DEI efforts programs comes less than two weeks before President-elect Trump’s inauguration. Mr. Zuckerberg and other tech executives have been seeking to develop a better relationship with the president-elect before he takes office. And companies like Meta and Amazon have made $1 million donations to his inaugural fund. Trump has vowed to end DEI programs in the federal government and at universities. Conservatives have criticized corporations for adopting diversity programs and argue they lead to anti-white racism and hiring people based on diversity requirements rather than qualifications. Reuters reported that Trump’s team is exploring ways to take on DEI programs at universities and corporations, including having the Justice Department conduct investigations and file lawsuits against companies that have diversity initiatives under the argument that they violate anti-discrimination laws. The founder of a conservative advocacy organization, Article III Project, Mike Davis, told Reuters, “DEI is unlawful discrimination. It’s illegal for the government to do it. It’s illegal for universities to do it. And it’s illegal for companies to do it.”Supporters of DEI argue that diversity programs help to create fairer and more diverse workplaces or education institutions. However, a study from the Network Contagion Institute found that “anti-oppressive DEI narratives can engender a hostile attribution bias and heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors in the absence of evidence for a transgression deserving punishment.”Diversity programs became popular in 2020 as racial justice protests erupted around the country, however, in the subsequent years, as Americans’ mood on DEI soured, companies have decided to drop such programs. A poll released by the Pew Research Center in November found that roughly 50 percent of Americans think focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, down from 56 percent in February 2023. Between Trump’s coming return to power and Americans’ shifting moods on such diversity programs, other corporations have started to drop their diversity programs. Large corporations such as McDonald’s, Ford, and Walmart have recently announced they are ending their DEI programs.

Meta Abandons Its DEI Programs Days Ahead of Trump’s Inauguration

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