Meta told employees that it plans to end programs supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Axios obtained the internal memo from Meta’s Vice President of Human Resources Janelle Gale, which said, “The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing. The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. It reaffirms longstanding principles that discrimination should not be tolerated or promoted on the basis of inherent characteristics. 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 that moving forward, the company will “continue to source candidates from different backgrounds, but we will stop using the Diverse Slate Approach” and will “eliminate any impression” of race and gender goals.
“We are sunsetting our supplier diversity efforts within our broader supplier strategy,” Gale added. “This effort focused on sourcing from diverse-owned businesses; going forward, we will focus our efforts on supporting small and medium sized businesses that power much of our economy. Opportunities will continue to be available to all qualified suppliers, including those who were part of the supplier diversity program.”
“Instead of equity and inclusion training programs, we will build programs that focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background,” Gale said.
The announcement follows Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg declaring that the company will end its fact-checking programs in the United States. He explained that fact-checkers have become “too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they created, especially in the U.S.”
