McDonald’s announced on Jan. 6 it would be rolling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies after assessing how a recent Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action could impact its business practices.
The fast-food giant said in an email to McDonald’s owner/operators, company employees and suppliers worldwide that it would be retiring setting aspirational representation goals and sunsetting requiring suppliers to commit to certain DEI targets.
McDonald’s also said it would stop participating in external surveys measuring diversity efforts, and that it would be renaming its diversity team to the Global Inclusion Team.
Despite the changes, McDonald’s said in the email it was committed to inclusion and considered it to be a competitive advantage.
“McDonald’s position and our commitment to inclusion is steadfast,” the company’s senior leadership team said in the email. “Since our founding, we’ve prided ourselves on understanding that the foundation of our business is people. As Fred Turner said, ‘We’re a people business, and never forget it.’”
McDonald’s said it has achieved leadership diversity, with more than 30% of its U.S. leaders coming from underrepresented backgrounds, and that it had achieved gender pay equity at “all levels and in every market.”
The company cited the 2023 Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard University as one of its reasons for reassessing the “shifting legal landscape to anticipate how this ruling may impact corporations such as McDonald’s.”
The ruling struck down affirmative action programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, but has made waves even beyond higher education.
McDonald’s now joins several other companies that have made changes to their diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the wake of the ruling, such as Starbucks, Walmart and Costco.
Last year, Walmart announced it would be rolling back some of its diversity initiatives, such as no longer giving priority treatment to women- or minority-owned businesses, nor renewing a five-year commitment for a racial equity center, according to the AP.
Starbucks shareholders also voted overwhelmingly in 2024 on a new executive compensation package that would not include diversity goals from bonus considerations for top leaders at the company, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.
Social media campaigns have led to backlash surrounding DEI policies, with many changes implemented across various sectors ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, NBC News reported. The president-elect has been a fierce critic of corporate diversity efforts.
