Another Major American Brand Slowly Backs Away From DEI

McDonald’s announced Monday it is abandoning some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, joining a growing list of major companies to cast the policies aside amid intense public scrutiny.

The fast food chain’s announcement stated it is “retiring” “aspirational representation goals,” rebranding the company’s diversity team as the “Global Inclusion Team,” and nixing diversity pledges for its suppliers. The company noted that it will remain “steadfast” in upholding “inclusion” across its 💼Business.

“As we start the New Year and set our ambitions for McDonald’s, we want to also update you on our accomplishments embedding inclusion throughout our system and highlight a few important changes to our approach,” the announcement reads. “We are also excited to introduce a new concept: the power of OUR ‘Golden Rule’ — treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always. For the last several months, a small team has been working on refining our language to better capture McDonald’s commitment to inclusion.”

McDonald’s is pausing its DEI pledge “in favor of a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to 💼Business performance” and will “focus on continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our 💼Business,” the announcement said.