Meta doesn’t stop at balance changes. According to both Axios again The New York TimesThe company is also pulling the plug on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. That includes eliminating diversity hiring targets, eliminating the position of chief diversity officer and de-prioritizing minority-owned businesses such as retailers, The Times‘ he reported.
When asked for comment on ending DEI’s plans, Meta confirmed that the reporting was accurate.
Internally, the company is apparently making a decision about the changing “legal and policy environment,” according to a memo to employees. Axios earned.
“The United States Supreme Court recently made decisions that signal a shift in how courts will approach DEI,” said Janelle Gale, Meta’s VP of Human Resources in the memo. “The term ‘DEI’ has been charged again, in part because some understand it as a practice that suggests preferential treatment to some groups over others.”
The current Supreme Court is not exactly friendly to organized efforts to deal with issues of race, gender and sexuality, but in the case of some of Meta’s recent changes, it seems that there is more going on than the company fears of a potential lawsuit.
At the same time that Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was abandoning third-party reality and testing and changing what kind of speech it allows on its site, 404 press reports that the company removed the Trans and Non-binary themes from Messenger, and the post it made announcing them. The company also added Trump supporter and UFC CEO Dana White to its board this week, confirming that Zuckerberg continues to love the UFC but also a sign that he is willing to listen to conservative voices. It all seems to be a small reaction to the current climate and how the people in charge want to do business going forward.