"Meta, Amazon scale back diversity programs ahead of Trump inauguration", 10 January 2025

Facebook owner Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab and Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab are winding down diversity programs ahead of Republican Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency as conservative opposition to such initiatives grows louder.

Some of America's biggest businesses have been scaling back their diversity initiatives, years after pushing for more inclusive policies in the wake of protests against the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020.

Meta is ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, including those for hiring, training and picking suppliers, it said in an internal memo to employees ...

In less than two weeks, Meta has scrapped its U.S. fact-checking program, elevated prominent Republican Joel Kaplan to be its chief global affairs officer and elected Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and close friend of Trump, to its board.

The Mark Zuckerberg-led social media giant has been attempting to mend relations with a leader who has railed against its political content policies and threatened its CEO with imprisonment.

In a departure from its past practice, Meta... announced a $1 million contribution to Trump's inaugural fund, joining big companies from Wall Street to Silicon Valley that have pledged donations.

Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab is "winding down outdated programs and materials" related to representation and inclusion, aiming to complete the process by the end of 2024, it said in a December memo to employees seen by Reuters...

Gale cited recent Supreme Court decisions "signaling a shift" in how U.S. courts will approach DEI programs going forward.

A U.S. appeals court in December ruled that Nasdaq could not impose rules designed to increase diversity in corporate America by requiring companies listed on the exchange to have women and minority directors on their boards or explain why they do not.

"The term 'DEI' has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others," Gale wrote.

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