According to a former Microsoft employee, diversity, equity and inclusion is ‘no longer business critical’ at the company and staff working on DEI initiatives have been laid off, they claimed.
An email sent to Microsoft employees by the former employee – a team leader – seen by Business Insider, stated: “True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020.”
The email referred to the scrapping of a team working on DEI policies around 1 July because of “changing business needs”.
Microsoft set out to prioritise workforce diversity after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and said it would double the number of black leaders within the company by 2025. It is not publicly known how much progress on this promise has been made.
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In a statement responding to the Business Insider report, Microsoft said: “Our D&I commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are holding firm on our expectations, prioritising accountability, and continuing to focus on this work.”
Several large companies have slimmed down DEI teams since the pandemic against a backdrop of political uncertainty over the best ways of promoting equality. Last year, CNBC reported that Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and WhatsApp, cut DEI staff members. In February, Zoom also laid off a DEI-focused team. Aparna Bawa, the chief operating officer, told staff the company would instead work with external consultants on inclusion initiatives.
At the beginning of the year Tesla cut its DEI programme, with the electric carmaker’s chief executive Elon Musk claiming that “DEI is just another word for racism – the point was to end discrimination, not replace it with different discrimination.”
However, Google’s chief diversity officer Melonie Parker told the BBC the internet giant remained firm in its racial-equity commitments, which include increasing underrepresented groups in leadership by 30% by 2025.
Goldman Sachs meanwhile has changed its admissions policy for a Possibilities Summit for black college students, by opening it up to white students. Bank of America has also relaxed admissions for some internal programmes that were focused on women and minorities, so that men can apply.
In the US, the Supreme Court ruled in June 2023 that it was unconstitutional to consider race in university admissions, a ruling that companies fear could lead to legal challenges over their diversity policies. The result has seen DEI jobs in the US fall by 8% from their early 2023 peak according to data from The Washington Post.
Sandi Wassmer, CEO at Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) said it was “disheartening” to see organisations de-prioritising DEI work.
She added: “If you want to make sure that everyone in your organisation has the resources and tools they need to thrive and flourish, and you want to have a happy, harmonious, high performing and productive workforce, then having DEI as an essential component of your strategy is simply non-negotiable.”
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