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WASHINGTON / January 22, 2025 – President Trump signed an Executive Order on Monday that ended the widespread but widely criticized Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (D.E.I.) programs in the federal government. (1) The Order reveals, “Pursuant to Executive Order 13985 and follow-on orders, nearly every Federal agency and entity submitted ‘Equity Action Plans’ to detail the ways that they have furthered DEI’s infiltration of the Federal Government.” (2) 

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs began several years ago as an effort to build public support, in response to social media campaigns that made claims of discriminatory policies. (3) These D.E.I. programs openly sought to discriminate against men and white persons. For example:

• Allan Kingsley Wood, a former senior director at software company Red Hat, alleged he was terminated in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for being white and male after he spoke out against the company’s push to hire based on race and gender. (4)  

• A white former Morgan Stanley & Co managing director filed a lawsuit claiming he was fired to make way for a less-qualified Black woman as the investment bank sought to diversify its senior ranks.  (5) 

Now, Fortune 500 companies are beginning to roll back or eliminate altogether their D.E.I. programs. Some companies are reconsidering their D.E.I. policies based on the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to strike down affirmative action in colleges and universities.(6) 

One of the first major companies to scale back its D.E.I. programs was Tractor Supply, which cut ties in with the Human Rights Campaign and other LGBTQ+ advocacy groups. (7)  In 2024, the following companies eliminated or reduced their D.E.I. initiatives: (8) 

• American Airlines (9)

• Boeing(10)  

• Ford (11) 

• Harley- Davidson (12)

• Lowe’s (13) 

• Nissan (14)  

• Walmart (15)   

The movement to emphasize merit over a person’s sex or race continued to build momentum as Amazon, (16) META, (17) and McDonalds (18) announced plans in January of this year to curtail their D.E.I. programs, as well.