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(Bloomberg) -- Corporate America’s pivot away from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives accelerated during the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second White House term.
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The backlash against programs that focus on DEI was already gaining ground over the past year, but it hit a fever pitch with the election of Trump and a series of executive orders he said were aimed at purging “illegal DEI” from across the US.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck gave a preview of what was to come when he started his anti-DEI campaign last summer, convincing Tractor Supply Co., Deere & Co. and Harley-Davidson Inc. to back away from diversity programs after he attacked their policies on social media and urged his online followers to boycott the companies. That was just a warmup, with about 11 companies taking action before the November election.
Now that Trump and the federal government have joined the fight, the pace of companies capitulating has accelerated. In a series of executive orders that started with his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump banned DEI programs from the government and asked federal agencies to seek out companies and non-governmental organizations to “end illegal discrimination and preferences, including DEI.” He ordered the government to recognize only two sexes — male and female — and urged federal contractors to do the same. His appointees have singled out retailers, broadcasters and law firms for potential action for promoting DEI programs.
Here’s a snapshot of what impact that’s had on corporate America in charts.
The Trump Effect
Bloomberg has tracked at least 37 large publicly traded companies — from Amazon.com Inc. to Walmart Inc. — that have made substantive changes to DEI that went beyond wording changes in documents. They range from eliminating DEI departments and ending supplier diversity programs to dropping support for LGBTQ programs and events. The cadence has accelerated substantially after Trump suggested federal contractors might lose federal funds if they don’t comply with his executive orders.
Character Changes
It’s not just that more companies have announced changes to their DEI programs, the character of those changes has shifted, as well, since the inauguration. Risk-management research company Gravity Research found that more companies ended diversity-focused hiring goals, executive representation targets and compensation tied to meeting DEI objectives.