Berliner Tageblatt - McDonald's rolls back some of its diversity practices

The fast-food giant's announced changes include no longer asking suppliers to commit to certain diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) targets, withdrawing from external surveys that gauge corporate diversity, and changing the name of its diversity committee.

"We are retiring Supply Chain's Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge in favor of a more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance," the fast-food giant said in a statement.

It also announced an end to "setting aspirational representation goals and instead keeping our focus on continuing to embed inclusion practices that grow our business into our everyday process and operations."

It will also pause external surveys "to focus on the work we are doing internally to grow the business."

Its diversity team will be renamed the Global Inclusion Team, which it deemed a change "more fitting for McDonald's in light of our inclusion value and better aligns with this team's work".

But it said "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. As (former CEO) Fred Turner said, 'We're a people business, and never forget it,'" it said.

In June 2023, the conservative-majority Supreme Court put an end to affirmative action in university admissions, reversing one of the major gains of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Since then, businesses and institutions have been rethinking programs to bolster minority groups as support for progressive policies has eroded.

DEI policies now face increasing attack in US corporate and government spheres, with backers of the initiatives -- which seek to correct bias in US workplaces -- on the defense even more after Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.

McDonald's announcement comes in the wake of similar moves by a string of prestige brands -- from Ford, John Deere and Lowe's to Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel's -- reflecting a backlash against so-called political correctness in American public life.

K.Thomson--BTB