KUALA LUMPUR – Meta has announced the termination of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, becoming the latest major company to scale back such initiatives amid mounting pressure from conservative critics.
The company confirmed the end of its DEI team and the cessation of its “equity and inclusion programs,” as well as changes to hiring and supplier diversity practices, in an internal memo issued by Meta’s Vice President of Human Resources, Janelle Gale, on Friday. A Meta spokesperson verified the contents of the memo.
“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” Gale wrote. “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.”
Gale also acknowledged the growing controversy surrounding the term “DEI,” with some believing it implies “preferential treatment of some groups over others.”
Meta’s chief diversity officer, Maxine Williams, will now focus on “accessibility and engagement,” the memo stated. Furthermore, the company will no longer require managers to source candidates from underrepresented groups or pursue minority-owned vendors and suppliers.
“We build the best teams with the most talented people,” Gale added. “This means sourcing people from a range of candidate pools, but never making hiring decisions based on protected characteristics (e.g., race, gender etc.).” Instead of DEI programmes, Meta intends to implement initiatives that focus on “fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background.”
This decision aligns with broader shifts at the company, which critics argue cater to conservative ideals following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in November’s election. Recently, Meta also announced the end of its U.S. third-party fact-checking programs and changes to its hateful conduct policies, allowing for new content previously banned on its platforms.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday, though the company declined to comment on the meeting. Zuckerberg also appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast, stating he had been working on the recent changes “for a long time.”
“The whole point of social media is giving people the ability to share what they want. It goes back to, our original mission is just give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected,” Zuckerberg explained. He described his “journey” over the past decade, noting how his stance on free speech shifted after Trump’s 2016 election and increased pressure from the Biden administration to moderate content related to Covid-19 misinformation.
“I kind of think in 2016 and the aftermath I gave too much deference to a lot of folks in the media who were basically saying ‘Okay, there was no way (Trump) could’ve gotten elected except for misinformation. People can’t actually believe this stuff,’” Zuckerberg admitted.
He noted that fact-checking and content moderation had “destroyed trust” in the platform. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Meta faced intense pressure from the Biden administration to remove content deemed misleading, including a meme that falsely claimed those vaccinated for Covid-19 would be involved in class-action lawsuits.
As conservative opposition to DEI initiatives grows, Meta joins companies such as Amazon, which announced plans to scale back diversity programs by the end of 2024. This shift comes after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against affirmative action in university admissions.
In less than two weeks, Meta has discontinued its U.S. fact-checking programme, promoted prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to Chief Global Affairs Officer, and appointed Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and a close friend of Trump, to its board.
In December, Meta made a US$1 million contribution to Trump’s inaugural fund, aligning with several major companies from Wall Street to Silicon Valley that have pledged donations.
Meanwhile, Amazon is “winding down outdated programmes and materials” related to representation and inclusion, with the process expected to be completed by the end of 2024, according to a December memo seen by Reuters on Friday.
Conservative groups have criticised DEI programmes and threatened legal action against companies that continue them, emboldened by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2023 that struck down affirmative action in university admissions.
This week, tech mogul Elon Musk and other Trump allies blamed DEI programmes for hindering the response to raging wildfires in Los Angeles, despite a lack of supporting evidence. – January 11, 2025