McDonald’s is the latest corporation in the United States that is scaling back on diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
The burger giant announced on Monday that it would change some of its guidelines, including retiring aspirational representation goals, otherwise known as quotas. It is also retiring its commitment to a DEI pledge of hiring diverse suppliers in favor of discussing with suppliers “about inclusion as it relates to business performance.”
The diversity team will also now be referred to as the Global Inclusion Team.
The roll back came following the Supreme Court landmark decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, when an advocacy group against affirmative action challenged Harvard and University of North Carolina for their admission processes. Students for Fair Admissions perceived these processes as discriminatory toward Asian American students.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court ultimately sided with Students for Fair Admissions, deeming affirmative action as unconstitutional and overturning a 45-year-old legal precedent.
McDonald’s said that after the case, it reassessed how the legal landscape is evolving to prepare for how the ruling may impact corporations.
The fast food chain also said it benchmarked its reapproach for other companies who want to reevaluate its DEI practices as well.
The guideline changes were communicated via email to McDonald’s restaurant owners, operators, employees and suppliers, according to Yahoo Finance. The changes came after backlash against DEI efforts which gained traction among corporations last year.
McDonald’s follows other major corporations that have recently rolled back on DEI initiatives like Walmart, Ford, John Deere and Harley-Davidson, as reported by Forbes.
McDonald’s nonetheless emphasized in its announcement that inclusion is a core value, and over 30% of its U.S. leaders are from underrepresented groups. The corporation also plans to continue publishing annual demographic reports for transparency.
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