McDonald's Rolls Back DEI Practices

McDonald's has joined a list of major companies that are rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments following the Supreme Court ending affirmative action in college admissions.

On Monday (January 6), McDonald's announced that it was retiring specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels, per The Hill. The fast food chain is also ending a program that encourages suppliers to develop diversity training and increase diversity in leadership positions.

The move comes after McDonald's announced in 2021 that executive bonuses would be tied to meeting DEI goals. The company had also launched an “Allyship through Accountability” policy, which aimed to fill 35 percent of U.S. leadership roles with underrepresented groups and 45 percent of leadership roles with women by 2025.

In a letter to its employees and franchises, McDonald's executives noted that 30 percent of U.S. leaders are from underrepresented groups, and it had reached gender pay equity at all levels.

McDonald's said it plans to continue reporting demographic data but will no longer engage in "external surveys." The fast-food giant, which joins corporations like Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, and Ford that have rolled back its DEI policies, said the changes are due to a "shifting legal landscape."

“McDonald’s position and our commitment to inclusion is steadfast. Since our founding, we’ve prided ourselves on understanding that the foundation of our business is people,” the company said in a statement. “We are proud of the work that we do at McDonald’s. We will continue to drive business results through all three legs of the McDonald’s stool, specifically with our people practices, by fueling economic impact and innovation through our robust supply chain and by building a franchisee pipeline that thrives in the communities we serve and fuels our growth.”

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