It feels like every morning I wake up, yet another tech company has completely abandoned their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. It’s tough to watch as someone who covered the ins and outs of diversity in tech during a time when tech companies went from being entirely unwilling to engage in the topic, to begrudgingly disclosing demographic data and setting actual goals, to finally focusing on inclusion of marginalized groups in tech.
President Donald Trump’s all-out assault on DEI has resulted in many tech companies bowing down to his administration — either out of what appears to be a fear of being reprimanded, a desire to cozy up to him and be rewarded in the future, or worse, a rejection of these ideas from the CEOs themselves.
In a matter of months, major tech companies like Meta, Amazon, Uber, Salesforce, The RealReal and Twilio have retreated from diversity efforts, effectively undoing what little progress was made to make the industry more diverse. And it couldn’t come at a worse time — a time where there is rapid growth and development in artificial intelligence, and all the surveillance and law enforcement use cases that come with it. Plus, algorithmic bias concerns abound.
But in the interest of not contributing to further doom and gloom — and out of an unwillingness to accept that it’s just all bad — I wondered if there were any big tech companies not completely distancing themselves from the efforts that our society very recently deemed to be so necessary and important.
They do exist, but the list is slim.
As some tech companies have stripped DEI language from their sites and annual reports, Lyft still promotes its DEI commitments and policies on its site. One such policy pertains to gender identity and affirmation, and advises that trans team members, including those who transition on the job, “can expect the full support of management.” In Lyft’s most recent annual report, the ridesharing company reported its employee demographics and stated that “achieving more diversity in workforce representation is an important priority.” (Compare that to The RealReal and ThredUp, two companies that removed their respective demographic data altogether.)
DoorDash’s annual report from last month clearly states the food delivery startup is committed to diversity and inclusion, stating that “a diverse and inclusive workforce is critical to helping us attract and retain the talent necessary to grow our business.” But even this comes with a caveat: the company no longer outlines examples of DEI programs at DoorDash. It’s slim pickings, folks.
But the most notable example of a tech company standing up to Trump’s war on DEI is Apple. Last month, shareholders voted to keep the tech giant’s diversity policies in tact, despite a push by the National Center for Public Policy and Research, a conservative think tank, to end DEI policies.
At that shareholder meeting, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company’s strength has come from hiring the best people, and “providing a culture of collaboration, one where people with diverse backgrounds and perspectives come together to innovate.” He added, however, that as the legal landscape evolves, “we may need to make some changes to comply.”
Cook’s comments signal the risk in taking such an approach, and explains why so many tech companies that were once outspoken about DEI have done an about-face on the topic.
None of this actually proves these companies are truly committed to DEI, and corporate inclusivity is not the be-all-end-all of racial justice. It may just mean that they’re not as bad as others are in these public-facing ways. And as Cook suggests, there exists the possibility that these companies will do away with these commitments altogether — assuming that the Trump administration clamps down even harder on diversity.
And as part of this quest for good, I came across even more bad. San Francisco-based Instacart recently scrapped a section on “Fostering a Diverse Workforce and Cultivating a Culture of Belonging.”
In last year’s annual filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Instacart outlined the importance of maintaining a diverse workforce and “focusing on inclusion for historically marginalized talent.” There are still some elements from that section in this year’s annual report, filed last month, but the report no longer identifies diversity and belonging as a priority.
Again, there’s a sense that it’s strategic: Over on Instacart’s careers website, the company still details the importance of increasing representation, focusing on inclusion and prioritizing “a race, ethnicity and gender equity-focused approach to achieve equality” in its processes. The company seems to care about presenting DEI values to prospective employees, but the same can’t be said for its investors.
What’s become clear over what’s felt like a few years, rather than mere months, is that many tech companies are abandoning DEI efforts faster than they were willing to implement them.
Lyft, DoorDash, Apple, and Instacart did not respond to Gazetteer SF’s request for comment.
If you work in tech and want to chat about your company’s approach to DEI, reach out at megan@gazetteer.co or securely via Signal at 415-516-5243.
