As corporate America feels the repercussions of the Trump administration’s targeting of DEI policies within the federal government, Google’s parent company ended its hiring goals for representation this week and eliminated any reference to diversity, equity, and inclusion from its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Alphabet deleted wording from its 10-K report to the SEC, which was released on Tuesday, that stated the company was dedicated to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into all aspects of its operations and to developing a staff that reflects the consumers it serves.
A Google representative said in a statement that the company has been evaluating its initiatives for the past year as part of its dedication to establishing an environment where all workers can thrive and have equal chances.
Our 10-k language has been changed to reflect this, and as a government contractor, our teams are also assessing any necessary revisions in light of recent court rulings and executive orders on the subject, the representative continued.
Over the past week, Google also seems to revamp their diversity website. Melonie Parker was named Chief Diversity Officer on an old version of the organization’s diversity webpage from January 29. However, Parker is now listed as VP, People Operations on the webpage as of right now.
A request for comment regarding the title change and whether Google employees on its diversity team had been impacted was not answered by a Google representative.
The representative stated that as part of the adjustments, it told staff that aspirational recruiting targets linked to representation would no longer exist. It will continue to have Employee Resource Groups. Within the organization, there are over 16 groups that help communities, ranging from Aboriginal and Indigenous groups to trans and gender non-conforming individuals. The first news that Google would no longer have diversity hiring goals came from the Wall Street Journal.
As of December, Google has over 180,000 employees worldwide.
Following George Floyd’s 2020 police murder, several U.S. firms expanded their DEI policies. However, in recent months, as Donald Trump’s presidential victory increased criticism of corporate policies aimed at improving representation, many of these companies have started reducing their DEI policies.
In recent months, McDonald’s, Meta, and Lowe’s have all reduced their DEI initiatives. Target announced that it would discontinue its DEI projects a few days after Trump was sworn in, citing the changing foreign environment. Other businesses have stated that they will keep up their DEI policies, like Costco and Delta Air Lines.