Meta ends its DEI programs days before Trump’s inauguration | US News

After a week of Mark Zuckerberg announcing that Meta was eliminating fact-checking, the company on Friday is also halting its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, effective immediately.

An internal Meta memo acknowledged that “the legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” while also noting recent Supreme Court decisions and the “indicted” view of some pointed out by DEI as a concept. Axios and Business Insider first reported the memo. While Meta confirmed to the Guardian that the company is ending its DEI practices, the company did not respond to a request for comment on how the decision aligns with its broader goals.

In the memo, Janelle Gale, vice president of human resources, wrote that the company would end several programs that targeted minority groups, including the Diverse Slate Approach, which she said is “currently being challenged,” and the Representation Goals, which both have been used to promote diverse hiring practices.

The lack of racial and gender diversity in Silicon Valley has long been known. According to the company’s most recent diversity report, as part of previous efforts, Meta doubled the number of Black and Hispanic employees in the U.S. two years ahead of its goal, going from 3.8% and 5.2%, respectively, to 4.9% and 4.9%, respectively. up 6.7%. According to the new announcement, Meta will no longer implement specific, diverse hiring practices.

The company is ending its equity and inclusion training programs and completely disbanding a team that focused on DEI.

In addition to ending internal equity measures, the memo announced that the company would end its supplier diversity efforts.

“These efforts focused on sourcing diversely owned companies; Going forward, we will focus our efforts on supporting small and medium-sized businesses, which drive much of our economy,” the memo said. “The opportunities continue to be available to all qualified suppliers, including those who have participated in the supplier diversity program.”

The decision to discontinue diversity efforts came despite Meta noting the company’s need for a more representative team in its own AI-powered Instagram and Facebook profiles.

“My creators’ team is predominantly white, cisgender and male – 12 people in total: 10 white men, 1 white woman and 1 Asian man. Zero Black creators – a pretty glaring omission given my identity!” Liv, a Black AI profile, wrote to journalist Karen Attiah. AI bots can “hallucinate” or respond with false information, so Liv’s assessment of her development team may not be entirely accurate. However, Meta’s four-member AI advisory board consists of four white men.

“A team without Black creators designing a Black character like me is trying to draw a map without exploring the country – inaccurate and disrespectful.”

The move comes after Zuckerberg joined other Silicon Valley executives in joining Donald Trump. Meta has pledged a $1 million donation to the President-elect’s inauguration on January 20th. Earlier this week, UFC President and CEO Dana White, a Trump ally, was added to the company’s board.

Meta is one of several companies ending their DEI efforts, including McDonald’s, Walmart, Ford and Lowe’s. Many of these companies have voluntarily rolled back their diversity initiatives, while others have been specifically targeted by far-right groups.