McDonald’s is rethinking its commitment to equality. And it’s not the only one
8 January 10:56
The American corporation McDonald’s has announced changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion policy, reflecting a broader trend of revising such programs in the US corporate sector. This was reported by CNN, according to Komersant ukrainskyi.
The changes include the cancellation of a program that encouraged suppliers to implement diversity training and increase the share of minorities in management. The company is also suspending participation in external surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign initiative, which assesses the integration of LGBTQ employees.
But the company assures that it is not abandoning its mission to maintain a diverse workforce and will continue to support practices that promote inclusion in the workplace and across its business units, and will work with its suppliers and vendors to discuss diversity and inclusive practices.
“Since our founding, we have prided ourselves on understanding that people are at the heart of our business,” the company said in a statement.
McDonald’s also explained that the company’s new position is driven by the recent Supreme Court decision against affirmative action, as well as the actions of other corporations that are reassessing their diversity initiatives.
CNN reminds that online pressure, legal threats, and customer resistance have forced many companies, including Walmart, Ford, Harley-Davidson, and John Deere, to adjust their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
What is the US Supreme Court decision in question?
In the summer of 2023, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer consider race as a special basis for granting admissions preferences. This decision was significant because it overturned a long-standing precedent that had given preference to black and Latino students in higher education. The US military academies, however, made an exception, allowing them to continue to take race into account as a factor in admission.
At the time, Republican lawmakers welcomed the decision. For example, Republican Senator Ted Cruz called the day of the decision “a great day for all Americans.” Donald Trump agreed with this assessment, saying that it was “a great day for America.”
Republicans on the ground heard from their leaders
Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have come under attack in boardrooms, state legislatures, and college campuses across the country.
According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, since 2023, 81 anti-diversity bills have been introduced in 28 states and in Congress targeting college programs. Eight bills have been signed into law in states such as Texas and Florida.
Critics say that diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are discriminatory and attempt to address racial discrimination by disadvantaging other groups, especially white Americans. But advocates and industry experts insist that the decades-old practice has been overly politicized and often misunderstood.
Some observers are inclined to believe that many high-profile corporate moves to redefine the commitment to equity and inclusion are not as big a change as they may seem.
For example, the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that opposes diversity, equity and inclusion programs, found last month that 486 Fortune 500 companies still have statements or corporate commitments to these policies on their websites.
The Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals agrees. The organization found that only 14 Fortune 500 companies have made any public changes to their diversity, equity and inclusion teams or programs in 2024.
