The tech giant is following in the footsteps of companies including Amazon, Ford, and McDonald’s in scrapping its DEI initiatives.
Alphabet-owned Google has become the latest U.S. company to scrap its programs and goals that are based on principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), with the tech giant removing various pledges from its website.
President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders targeting DEI initiatives since returning to the White House earlier this month, including one aimed at eliminating DEI-focused policies and programs within the federal government.
Trump also issued an order targeting DEI in both the public and private sectors.
While Google had ramped up inclusivity efforts in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd in 2020, the company appears to have made a U-turn on its diversity policies, having updated its “belonging” webpage in the past week.
An archived version of the page dating back to Jan. 29 states that Google was taking “targeted action” to address issues such as disability inclusion, gender equality, LGBT inclusion, racial equality, and veteran inclusion.
The same page also listed Melonie Parker as “Chief Diversity Officer” along with the pronouns “she/her.”
The current version of the webpage shows no trace of those targeted actions, which have been replaced with more generic pledges such as “empowering people,” “building for everyone,” and “partnering for impact.”
It also now lists Parker as “VP, People Operations” and has removed her pronouns.
In addition, Alphabet removed any mention of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” from its annual 10-K report for the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In its annual report filed with the agency last year, the tech giant said it was “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.”
Alphabet’s most recent filing with the SEC, made on Jan. 31, states: “Our people are critical for our continued success, so we work hard to create an environment where employees can have fulfilling careers, and be happy, healthy, and perform at a high level.”
