Instead of a thread for each company, it is probably better to track the fall of DEI in a single place. Or how corps are cheating the system by renaming DEI to something else.
Here's something interesting.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook is openly gay so he has a personal interest in DEI.
A personal anecdote, in a previous job, I worked with a female minority person. She was not very competent at her job at managing projects but a good person outside of that. She never helped manage the projects of our team which was her job, but since the work had to be done, an engineering manager and I had to do it. She got laid off last year, just found a job at Apple!
Let's see how these companies stand up to the backlash.
Companies like Costco and Apple are defending their DEI programs despite nationwide pushbackThese are the companies standing by their policies
https://fortune.com/2025/01/29/companies-like-costco-and-apple-are-defending-their-dei-programs-despite-nationwide-pushback-these-are-the-companies-standing-by-their-policies/
Here's something interesting.
Apple's CEO Tim Cook is openly gay so he has a personal interest in DEI.
A personal anecdote, in a previous job, I worked with a female minority person. She was not very competent at her job at managing projects but a good person outside of that. She never helped manage the projects of our team which was her job, but since the work had to be done, an engineering manager and I had to do it. She got laid off last year, just found a job at Apple!
Let's see how these companies stand up to the backlash.
Companies like Costco and Apple are defending their DEI programs despite nationwide pushbackThese are the companies standing by their policies
https://fortune.com/2025/01/29/companies-like-costco-and-apple-are-defending-their-dei-programs-despite-nationwide-pushback-these-are-the-companies-standing-by-their-policies/
Quote:
These are some of organizations that have made public statements in one form or another about their commitment to DEI.
Costco
Costco is perhaps the most notable example of a company that has stood by its DEI policies.
In mid-January, the company's shareholders overwhelmingly voted against a proposal urging the wholesale club to evaluate risks posed by its diversity, equity, and inclusion measures. Costco's board of directors unanimously advised shareholders to vote against the measure, stating that "our commitment to an enterprise rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary. The report requested by this proposal would not provide meaningful additional information to our shareholders."
Costco did not respond to Fortune's request for additional comment.
JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has made clear that he is not afraid of the anti-DEI activists who have pledged to go after the banking powerhouse.
Apple
Like Costco, the tech behemoth's board of directors recommended in January that its shareholders reject a proposal to reconsider their DEI initiatives. "At Apple, we believe that how we conduct ourselves is as critical to Apple's success as making the best products in the world," the company said in its proxy statement. "We seek to conduct business ethically, honestly, and in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and our Business Conduct and Compliance policies are foundational to how we do business. And we strive to create a culture of belonging where everyone can do their best work."
Leaders at social media platform Pinterest have publicly stood by their DEI outlook.
The company's CEO, Bill Ready, spoke to CNBC at Davos, saying that "people on our platform come from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds. And so we've been very focused on how we drive inclusivity in our platform with things like inclusive AI, with things like diversity by default in our feed."
Microsoft
In December, Microsoft's chief diversity officer, Lindsay-Rae McIntyre, wrote in a LinkedIn post that the company's "diversity and inclusion work is more important than ever." She also highlighted the organization's October 2024 Global Diversity and Inclusion Report, pointing out that 76% of Microsoft employees joined the company for both their career and Microsoft's culture.
Goldman Sachs
When asked about the anti-DEI activists targeting Goldman Sachs at Davos, CEO David Solomon did not speak to the company's stance directly, but noted that "more broadly we've always looked at these issues through the eyes of our clients. We're advising our clients. They think about these things. They think about decarbonization, they think about climate transition. They think about their businesses, how they find talent, the diversity of the talent they find all over the world."
Cisco
Like many of his fellow company heads, Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, also defended DEI while at Davos. "If I'm sitting in a room to try to solve a complex problem or to chase a big opportunity, I want a lot of diverse brains in that room. I don't care if it's gender or nationality or diversity of experience," he said on CNBC. "Diversity in general is good for business."
Delta
When asked during a Jan. 10 earnings call whether the company was reevaluating its DEI policies, chief legal officer and corporate secretary Peter Carter said, "No, we are not. We are steadfast in our commitments because we think that they're actually critical to our business."
Salesforce
During an interview with Axios at Davos, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff pledged to protect employees from discriminatory attacks, adding that if "somebody's going to come after our employees or discriminate against them in any way, we'll do everything we can to help them, support them."
