from D.E.I. to D.I.E.

Written By Jessica Parker

In response to our unfortunate Commander-in-Chief’s order to eradicate federal D.E.I. programs, companies around the country are taking heed and removing their own D.E.I. initiatives.

To understand the roots of D.E.I., let us first take a step back and look at the history of D.E.I..

Companies first decided to enact their D.E.I. initiatives in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. After the murder of George Floyd by ex-cop and current felon Derek Chauvon, protests and instances of civil unrest began to sprout across the country as well as abroad.

One of the responses to cries of racial inequality was a rush toward social media outlets. People began to research and broadcast the faces, and ultimately the demographics, of executive employees at various corporations. With this new and easily shareable visual aide, it was plain to see, as the old adage goes, that middle management was clearly where diversity went to die.

After being exposed for their monotone C-suites, corporations big and small responded with pledges to dedicate their time and resources to forging a more inclusive workplace. This was often described as a reformatting of company values to incorporate a level of intentionality toward diversity in the workforce. Corporations would work to ensure that people of marginalized communities had equal consideration in senior level positions.

Admittedly, this was a much more productive use of their time which was previously used to post black squares on Instagram.

Some of the most notable corporations in the country like Amazon, Walmart, and Meta (née Facebook) made expressive and bold claims to adopt these new ideologies.

Fast forward to today, those same corporations are tripping over themselves to wipe their D.E.I. pages from their websites and hopefully the minds of their shareholders. Those same departments which were created to support these initiatives have either been laid off, severely downsized or outsourced (ahem Harvard University). It’s almost as if they were biting at the bit for an opportunity to shed their activism. These actions have us, as a whole, looking understandably disappointed but not shocked. Sadly, we are never shocked. In spite of perceived steps taken forward toward progressive change, we will always expect the racism that is undergirding our country to remain tried, true and unchanging. And sadly our cautiousness is consistently proven to be warranted.

Thankfully there are a few major corporations who still support their D.E.I. initiatives on paper at least. I expect that this list will be changing, I.e. getting smaller, as the days continue. Please keep in mind that this list should be taken with a grain of salt and as always make your decisions based off of your own values and what is appropriate for your lifestyle. Shame will not move us forward, community will.

As of today here is a list of the Fortune Global 500 corporations who still have their die initiatives, or some variation of inclusivity initiative, still listed on their sites.

D.E.I initiatives

Goods

Finance

Automobiles

Fuel

Tech

Insurance

Networks

Services

Inclusion Initiatives

AT&T AT&T Culture and Inclusion +

Boeing https://www.boeing.com/sustainability/diversity-and-inclusion *+

Gap Bridging the Opportunity Gap | Gap Inc.

Google https://about.google/intl/ALL_us/belonging/ +

Netflix Netflix Jobs

Proctor & Gamble Equality & Inclusion | P&G

Starbucks Inclusion, Diversity & Belonging: Creating a More Welcoming Environment

United Airlines People Impact *+

UPS Inclusion and Belonging - Business Resource Groups | Careers at UPS

Visa Inclusion + Diversity | Visa

* These companies are currently under review. They have changed some of their language to “Merit Based” or have become increasingly vague in their initiatives.

+ Endorsed / Supports 47

Jessica Parker https://shoptotale.com
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