Just days after calling time on its fact-checking program and scaling back its policies on hate speech, Meta has told its employees that it will end its internal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. It comes just days before Donald Trump is due to be inaugurated as US president.
Notably, Meta will stop using its Diverse Slate Approach of considering candidates from underrepresented groups for its open roles and will also end its diversity efforts within its supplier strategy.
Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, is also replacing its equity and inclusion training programs with programs that aim to “mitigate bias” for all.
The announcement was made by Janelle Gale, Meta’s Vice President of People in an internal memo to staff and was first reported by Axios.
“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” the memo to employees said.
“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.
“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 back slide on DEI comes ahead of a second Trump presidency and as other major corporations, including Walmart, Amazon and McDonalds have recently dropped and started to dismantle their own DEI policies.
These decisions followed a major ruling by the US Supreme Court to end affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling was a blow to decades’ long race-conscious admissions schemes, aimed at diversifying the student population of the country’s most elite Ivy-league colleges.
Meanwhile, Apple’s board urged its investors to reject a proposal from shareholders to abolish its DEI programs. A conservative think tank had submitted a proposal that the company make the move to get rid of its DEI programs. The board at Apple responded by saying the proposal was inappropriate and unnecessary.
The decision by Meta to ends its DEI efforts comes as Trump and Elon Musk have blamed DEI for hindering the emergency response to the wildfires that have devastated Los Angeles. There is no evidence to suggest this is the case.