The diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) rollback across corporate America now includes the country’s best-known fast food chain, McDonald’s (MCD).
The burger giant said in a Monday announcement that it would retire its practice of setting aspirational representation goals, known as quotas, and do away with a company pledge to hire a diverse group of suppliers in favor of “a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance.”
McDonald’s added that it would also pause external surveys and change the way it refers to its diversity team to the “Global Inclusion Team.”
The changes were communicated by email on Monday to McDonald’s restaurant owners, operators, employees, and suppliers amid a backlash against diversity-focused initiatives and “woke” policies that picked up momentum across corporate America in 2024.
The list of companies that have backed away or adjusted such policies now includes many of the biggest names in business. Walmart (WMT), for example, backed away from its DEI initiatives in November following public and shareholder pressure to do so.
Home improvement giant Lowe’s (LOW), rural retailer Tractor Supply (TSCO), and tractor maker John Deere (DE) also announced retreats from DEI policies last summer.
Harley-Davidson (HOG), Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman (BF-A), Polaris (PII), and its motorcycle subsidiary, Indian Motorcycle, are among the other recent pullbacks.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has said many of the discarded diversity initiatives happened after he communicated plans to “expose” woke policies.
Starbuck contacted McDonalds to inquire about its policies, though he did not engage in conversations with the company, according to CNBC.
There have been other rollbacks enforced by the courts.
Last month a federal appeals court struck down Nasdaq rules designed to encourage more diverse company boards.
The decision handed down by nine judges for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans concluded that the Securities and Exchange Commission should not have approved the Nasdaq rules in 2021.
