Google is reportedly changing course on its diversity initiatives, too

Google is changing its tune around efforts to hire employees from historically underrepresented backgrounds, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal.

The company reportedly announced that it would "no longer set hiring targets to improve representation in its workforce." The first hint that things might be changing at Google was a tweak to its parent company Alphabet's annual report. A phrase that claimed Alphabet was "committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve" featured in previous years was removed.

When reached for comment, Google provided the following statement:

We’re committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year we’ve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there. We’ve updated our 10-k language to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic.

Even if diverse hiring is no longer a stated goal, Google still plans on supporting resource groups for underrepresented employees and opening offices in cities with diverse workforces, according to the report. It just doesn't plan on having "aspirational goals" moving forward.

Backing off of at least some of its diversity, equity and inclusion goals stands in contrast to the Google of five years ago. In 2020, CEO Sundar Pichai committed to "improve leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30 percent by 2025," among other changes meant to better racial equity at the company. 

Making this kind of change isn't exactly unusual, however. Amazon is winding down some of its DEI programs, according to CNBC and Meta has completely eliminated its diversity hiring goals and the position of chief diversity officer at the company. Based on Google's statement and justifications Meta made previously, US companies are worried about the current Supreme Court and the Trump Administration's opinion of diversity, equity and inclusion. Eliminating programs that might displease them is simpler than inviting what could be a losing legal battle.

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