Google scraps inclusive hiring

Google is abandoning its goal of hiring more employees from underrepresented groups. It is reviewing some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, joining a number of U.S. companies that are scaling back diversity initiatives, reported by Reuters.

Google has for years been one of the companies that has pushed for more inclusive policies following protests over the police killing of George Floyd and other black Americans in 2020. In 2020, Google CEO Sundar Pichai set a goal of 30% more leaders from underrepresented groups by 2025. At the time, about 96% of Google’s leaders in the U.S. were white or Asian, and 73% globally were men.

DEI repealed at U.S. federal contractors

In 2021, the company began evaluating the performance of executives on diversity and team engagement. This came after a prominent AI research executive said the company abruptly fired her after she criticized Google’s diversity efforts. Melonie Parker, Google’s head of diversity, said in 2024 that the company had achieved 60 percent of its five-year goals.

Google, which sells cloud computing and other services to the U.S. government, also said it was reviewing President Donald Trump’s policy changes to limit DEI at the government and among federal contractors. The company will support internal employee groups such as Trans at Google, the Black Googler Network and the Disability Alliance, which the company says are empowering product and policy decisions.

Facebook, Amazon to end inclusion programs

Facebook’s Meta platform said in an internal memo in January that it was ending its DEI programs, including those for hiring, training and supplier selection. Amazon also said it was ending legacy programs related to representation and inclusion in a memo to its employees.

Conservative groups, buoyed by a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated affirmative action in college admissions, have condemned DEI programs and threatened lawsuits against companies that implement them.