Accenture has decided to abandon its global diversity and inclusion targets following a review of the shifting U.S. political climate, according to an internal memo obtained by Reuters.
CEO Julie Sweet stated in the memo that the company will gradually phase out the diversity objectives established in 2017, along with the career advancement initiatives designated for individuals of specific demographic backgrounds.
The adjustment aligns Accenture with other major tech firms like Meta, Alphabet, and Amazon, which have recalibrated their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals surrounding and after the return of Republican Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency.
Sweet attributed Accenture's shift in policy to an assessment of our internal protocols and procedures and the changing landscape in the United States, including recent executive directives that we must adhere to.
Following Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, a series of executive orders were issued with the intention of dismantling DEI programs in both government agencies and the private sector.
Alongside retracting Accenture's DEI objectives, which Sweet indicated would no longer be used as a metric for employee evaluations, the company will temporarily halt the submission of data to external diversity benchmarking surveys, as outlined in the memo.
Furthermore, Sweet remarked that the company would reassess external collaborations related to this matter "as part of our talent strategy review."
As of the latest annual report, women account for 48% of Accenture's workforce, with 30% occupying managing director positions, in line with the targets set in 2017 and 2020. Additionally, diversity targets concerning race and ethnicity were revealed for the U.S. and the UK in 2020.
The Financial Times broke the story of this development.