McDonald’s abandons major ‘woke’ policy as latest American brand to cave to conservative backlash
Four years after launching a push for more diversity in its ranks, McDonald’s is ending some of its diversity practices, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.
McDonald’s is the latest big company to shift its tactics in the wake of the June 2023 ruling and a conservative backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
McDonald’s message to franchise owners said the company remains committed to inclusion and would continue to ’embed inclusion practices’ in its operations.
Walmart, John Deere, Harley-Davidson and others rolled back their DEI initiatives last year.
McDonald’s said it will retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels.
It also intends to end a program that encourages its suppliers to develop diversity training and to increase the number of minority group members represented within their own leadership ranks.
McDonald’s said it will also pause ‘external surveys.’ The burger giant didn’t elaborate, but several other companies, including Lowe’s and Ford suspended their participation in an annual survey by the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees.
McDonald’s, which has its headquarters in Chicago, rolled out a series of diversity initiatives in 2021 after a spate of sexual harassment lawsuits filed by employees and a lawsuit alleging discrimination brought by a group of black former McDonald’s franchise owners.
McDonald’s is ending some of its diversity, equity and inclusion practices, following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions.
McDonald’s message to franchise owners said the company remains committed to inclusion and would continue to ’embed inclusion practices’ in its operations
‘As a world-leading brand that considers inclusion one of our core values, we will accept nothing less than real, measurable progress in our efforts to lead with empathy, treat people with dignity and respect, and seek out diverse points of view to drive better decision-making,’ McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempzcinski wrote in a LinkedIn post at the time.
But on Monday McDonald’s said in an open letter that the ‘shifting legal landscape’ after the Supreme Court decision and the actions of other corporations caused it to take a hard look at its own policies.
Corporate America stepped up its focus on diversity initiatives after widespread protests following the police killings of George Floyd and other black Americans in 2020.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has taken the credit for the ‘first corporate flip of 2025’ that saw McDonald’s dump DEI policies
But some companies have backtracked recently in response to pressure from conservative legal organizations. Right-wing groups have relentlessly targeted corporate diversity efforts, branding them as ‘woke overreach.’
A shifting political landscape may also have played a role. Donald Trump is a vocal opponent of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Trump tapped Stephen Miller, a former adviser who leads a group called America First Legal that has aggressively challenged corporate DEI policies, as his incoming deputy chief of policy.
Vice President-elect JD Vance introduced a bill in the Senate last summer to end such programs in the federal government.
Conservative political commentator Robby Starbuck has threatened consumer boycotts of prominent consumer brands that don’t retreat from their diversity programs, said on X that he recently told McDonald’s he would be doing a story on its ‘woke policies.’
Conservative political commentator Robby Starbuck threatened consumer boycotts of prominent consumer brands that don’t retreat from their diversity programs
Starbuck has 745,000 followers on X. Companies he has previously targeted, including Tractor Supply Co, John Deere and Walmart, have backed away from DEI practices in the wake of his criticism
In a direct message sent via X to McDonald’s Senior Marketing Director Guillaume Huin, Starbuck asked Huin if McDonald’s was considering any changes ‘to embrace corporate neutrality.’
Starbuck has 745,000 followers on X, and companies he has previously targeted, including Tractor Supply Co, John Deere and Walmart, have backed away from DEI practices in the wake of his criticism.
McDonald’s said it had been considering updates to its policies for several months and planned to time the announcement to the start of this year.
In an to employees and franchisees, McDonald’s senior leadership team said it remains committed to inclusion and believes a diverse workforce is a competitive advantage.
The company said 30 percent of its U.S. leaders are members of underrepresented groups, up from 29 percent in 2021.
McDonald’s previously committed to reaching 35 percent by the end of this year.
McDonald’s said it has achieved one of the goals it announced in 2021: gender pay equity at all levels of the company.
It also said it met three years early a goal of having 25 percent of total supplier spending go to diverse-owned businesses.
McDonald’s said it would continue to support efforts that ensure a diverse base of employees, suppliers and franchisees, but its diversity team will now be referred to as the Global Inclusion Team.
The company said it would also continue to report its demographic information.
The McDonald’s Hispanic Owner-Operators Association said it had no comment on the policy change.
In November, Walmart’s was the latest domino to fall in a growing conservative crusade against DEI initiatives.
Emboldened by that decision, conservative groups have filed lawsuits making similar arguments about corporations, targeting workplace initiatives such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups.
In November, Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, announced it was rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies
When it comes to race or gender, Walmart won’t be giving priority treatment to suppliers that are 51 percent-owned by women, minorities, veterans or members of the LGBTQ community
Boeing also took apart its DEI department reassigning staffers to teams within the company’s human resources department
Bud Light beer lost its spot as the top-selling beer in the U.S. in 2023 following a controversy over a social-media promotion with a transgender influencer.
Conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck has been going after corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on X, including Walmart
In the summer of 2023, Target’s sales fell after coming in for criticism of its Gay Pride month merchandise displays.
But Walmart, which employs 1.6 million workers in the U.S., was the largest one to do so. The company typically tries to stay neutral on hot-button social issues to appeal to a broad spectrum of shoppers and workers.
Walmart also agreed to stop using the terms ‘DEI’ and ‘Latinx’ in official communication.
At the time, Starbuck congratulated Walmart for its new direction.
‘I have to give their executives major credit because this will send shockwaves throughout corporate America. This is the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America,’ he said while warning other corporate giants.
There are plenty of memes online that poke fun at DEI stances
Walmart has said that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors.
It will include chest binders intended for youth who are going through a gender change, the company said.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will also be reviewing grants to Pride events to make sure it is not financially supporting sexualized content that may be unsuitable for kids.
For example, the company wants to makes sure a family pavilion is not next to a drag show at a Pride event, the company said.
The changes don’t stop there. Walmart has scrapped any use of race or gender as a criterion in awarding supplier contracts, signaling a stark departure from efforts to improve diversity in its business partnerships.
The company said it didn’t have quotas and will not do so going forward.
Additionally, it will cease tracking demographic data for grant eligibility and funding decisions.
Walmart also said it wouldn’t renew a racial equity center that was established through a five-year, $100 million philanthropic commitment from the company with a mandate to: ‘address the root causes of gaps in outcomes experienced by Black and African American people in education, health, finance and criminal justice systems.’
In the summer of 2023, Target’s sales fell after coming in for criticism of its Gay Pride month merchandise displays
These swimsuits included a label which advertises the ‘tuck-friendly construction’ and ‘extra crotch’ coverage led to a huge backlash from once loyal Target shoppers
Bud Light’s popularity and its sale plummeted after conservative consumers boycotted the drink over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney
The beer giant’s PR disaster went from bad to worse when it swiftly broke off the contract with Mulvaney, and former Bud Light employees accused leaders of ‘cowardice’ for failing to support the influencer
And it would stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, signaling a chilling blow to inclusivity.
Critics argue Walmart’s capitulation undermines years of progress toward equity in corporate America.
‘We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,’ the company said in a statement.
The changes come soon after an election win by Donald Trump, who has criticized DEI initiatives and surrounded himself with conservatives who hold similar views.
They include his former adviser Stephen Miller, who leads a group called America First Legal that has challenged corporate DEI policies.
Trump named Miller to be the deputy chief of policy in his new administration.
With Trump allies celebrating Walmart’s pivot as a triumph, critics fear the tidal wave of ‘anti-woke’ rhetoric is only gaining momentum.
in August Ford became latest high-profile American company to pump brakes on DEI
Harley-Davidson ditched ts diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals in August
Last summer Home improvement chain Lowe’s scaled back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, joining the ranks of several other companies
In June Tractor Supply said it would be eliminating all of its diversity, equity and inclusion roles while retiring current DEI goals
A Walmart spokesperson said some of its policy changes have been in progress for a while.
For example, it has been moving away from using the word DEI in job titles and communications and started to use the word ‘belonging.’
It also started making changes to its supplier program in the aftermath of the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling.
Some have been urging companies to stick with their DEI policies.
In October, a group of Democrats in Congress appealed to the leaders of the Fortune 1000, saying that DEI efforts give everyone a fair chance at achieving the American dream.
