Corporate America is abandoning diversity — and we were fools to believe they cared about it in the first place
Corporate America has made its stance clear: diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) were just trendy buzzwords, and now that the political winds have shifted, they’re quietly scrapping the initiatives they once paraded. Google, Meta, Amazon, and a host of other corporations have either slashed or entirely abandoned their DEI programs. What does this tell us? That these efforts were never about genuine change—they were about optics, and now that the pressure is off, they’re revealing their true priorities.
The latest bombshell came from Google, which recently announced that it would no longer be using diversity hiring targets. This is the same company that, just a few years ago, proudly touted its commitment to building a workforce that reflected the world it served. Now, under the guise of legal compliance and “business needs,” Google is turning its back on those promises.
And they’re not alone. Meta has been quietly scaling back its diversity programs. Amazon, despite years of talking up its efforts to diversify its ranks, is cutting back as well. Even companies that once championed inclusion are now shifting their messaging, hiding behind vague statements about being “inclusive to all” while axing the very programs designed to make that inclusivity a reality.
The timing isn’t coincidental. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, giving corporations a convenient excuse to distance themselves from anything resembling race-conscious hiring. The backlash against DEI—fueled by conservative political figures and lawsuits against major companies—has provided the perfect cover for corporations to backpedal without admitting they were never fully invested in the first place.
Let’s not forget how these same companies once used diversity as a selling point. They flooded their social media pages with Black squares in 2020, issued statements in support of marginalized communities, and hired Chief Diversity Officers to signal their “commitment” to change. But the moment the pressure eased, they let those efforts dissolve.
Why? Because for Corporate America, DEI was never about justice. It was never about correcting the systemic imbalances that kept marginalized groups out of leadership roles. It was about marketing. About appealing to a younger, more progressive consumer base. About dodging bad PR. And now, with political and legal headwinds changing, they see no more benefit in maintaining the illusion.
This rollback will have real-world consequences. Without DEI initiatives, workplaces will revert to the same exclusionary practices that have long marginalized women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and disabled workers. The tech industry, already infamous for its lack of diversity at the leadership level, will become even less representative.
Moreover, the message sent by these companies is clear: diversity is optional. It’s not a fundamental part of business; it’s a luxury that can be discarded when it becomes inconvenient. And that should be a wake-up call for anyone who genuinely believed that corporate-led diversity efforts were ever more than a branding strategy.
The fool was us — for ever believing them
If there’s one takeaway from this, it’s that true progress can’t depend on corporations. The people who run these businesses are beholden to shareholders and profit margins, not to moral imperatives. They will say what is convenient in one era and discard those promises the moment they no longer serve their bottom line.
The real fight for inclusion and equity cannot rest on the hollow pledges of billion-dollar corporations. It must come from systemic change—policy shifts, unionization, and grassroots movements that hold these institutions accountable.
Corporate America has shown its hand, and it’s time we stopped falling for the same old performance.
