McDonald’s Becomes Latest Company To Roll Back DEI Initiatives. Here’s Why

McDonald’s has become the latest company to roll back its DEI initiatives. The fast-food giant claims that it did so for a myriad of reasons. Let’s take a look at the details.

McDonald’s Doesn’t Feel It Needs DEI

The Associated Press reports that McDonald’s announced on Monday, Jan. 6, that it will discontinue certain targets for attaining diversity in senior leadership. Additionally, it plans to discontinue a program that incentivizes its suppliers to create diversity training and to boost the proportion of members of minority groups in their leadership positions.

The fast-food chain attributed its decision in part to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that prohibited affirmative action in college admissions.

Additionally, McDonald’s announced that it will halt “external surveys.” The burger giant did not provide further details. Still, many other businesses, such as Ford and Lowe’s, stopped taking part in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual survey that gauges workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ workers.

Following a wave of employee sexual harassment lawsuits and a discrimination lawsuit brought by a group of former Black McDonald’s franchise owners, the Chicago-based fast-food chain launched a number of diversity efforts in 2021.

Other Companies Have Already Pulled Back

Following the 2023 ruling and conservative backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, McDonald’s is the most recent large corporation to change its strategies. Last year, several companies, including Harley-Davidson, John Deere, and Walmart, retracted their DEI programs.

The move may have been the result of a number of factors, including public pressure from well-known conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who regularly posts about DEI-related topics on X, the 2023 Supreme Court decision against the use of affirmative action in college admissions — a victory conservative groups have used to sue corporations for similar policies, according to the AP — and a general change of heart, according to Walmart itself.

The retailer stated in November 2024 that it now wants to concentrate on creating a “sense of belonging” to “open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers, and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone.”

Walmart added that when granting supplier contracts, it will not take gender or color into account. Although the business said that it had never before employed a formal quota system to choose suppliers, it was obvious that it would not be taking gender or race into account going forward, either favorably or unfavorably.

According to the AP, the blue-and-yellow company will also not renew a $100 million racial equity center and will no longer be included in the Human Rights Campaign’s index that tracks inclusion efforts for LGBTQ+ employees.

As CNN reported at the time, Walmart also announced that it is discontinuing its racial diversity training initiatives for employees. Additionally, the business will stop using the terms “Latinx” and “DEI” in official correspondence.

The business also stated that it would enhance oversight of third-party products offered on its marketplace to make sure they don’t contain sexual or transgender items intended for minors, such as chest binders targeted at young people undergoing gender transition, according to the AP.

To ensure that its revenues are not linked to sexual content that would be unsuitable for young people, the store said that it will be closely examining how it finances Pride activities. Walmart, for instance, stated that it wished to prevent a family pavilion from being adjacent to a drag act during Pride celebrations.

Shaun Harper, the founder and executive director of the University of Southern California’s Race and Equity Center and a professor of business and education, made a quite bleak forecast in an interview with CNN at the time.

“The DEI infrastructure in most corporations was already flimsy even before Trump,” Harper said. “Trump’s election gives business leaders who were never committed to an easy out.”