Another of America’s most ubiquitous brands has opted to end efforts to promote diversity among its leadership.
Fast food franchise McDonald’s is joining Harley Davidson, John Deere, Walmart and others in shuttering its DEI programs, meant to promote the inclusion of minorities in leadership positions throughout the company’s hierarchy.
Companies have been rolling back DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs since the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2023 that outlawed the use of affirmative action in college admissions.
For McDonald’s, that means ending programs that seek to increase the minority population of the company’s leadership ranks and coaxes its suppliers to create their own diversity training programs. It will also eliminate its own diversity goals for senior leadership.
The DEI initiatives were first put in place by the burger behemoth after a slew of lawsuits in 2021 that alleged both sexual harassment against employees and discrimination against Black franchisees.
“As a world-leading brand that considers inclusion one of our core values, we will accept nothing less than real, measurable progress in our efforts to lead with empathy, treat people with dignity and respect, and seek out diverse points of view to drive better decision-making,” McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote in a LinkedIn post at the time.
But on Monday, the company cited a “shifting legal landscape” as the catalyst for dropping the initiatives, though McDonald’s senior leadership wrote in an open letter to employees and franchisees that they still believe a diverse workforce gives companies a competitive advantage.