Companies are now taking a “quiet quitting” approach to dismantling DEI.
While some corporations with outspoken CEOs — like Disney and JPMorgan — are making headlines for very publicly rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion policies, dozens more are subtly removing “woke” language from their handbooks and annual reports.
Over the last few months, major brands have removed DEI language from their 10-K filings — annual reports companies submit to the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing their performance over the last year.
General Motors and PepsiCo., which previously had sections devoted to explaining their commitment to DEI, removed any mention of it in filings detailing 2024. Comcast, Boeing and Lockheed Martin — all of which highlighted a commitment to DEI in prior reports — scrubbed the references this year.
Intel chopped down its section on inclusion from 456 words accompanied by bar charts last year to just 88 words this year. United Rentals cut its “workplace inclusivity” section altogether.
One PR consultant who works with major corporations told NYNext he had expected a fair amount of drama after companies walked back DEI — but most have been surprised by the muted backlash from employees.
“Disney made quite a big deal out of fighting DeSantis [and his “don’t say gay” bill] in Florida because, in large part, they said their workforce demanded no less,” the consultant explained. “And now they [and other companies] are quiet quitting DEI and it seems like not everyone internally would agree with that.”
Last week, Disney sent a note to employees that the company was moving away from its DEI initiatives to focus more on “business outcomes,” according to an Axios report. And employees have yet to publicly organize protests.
Executives at companies depoliticizing their reports say they haven’t experienced much backlash internally either.
One executive said the tightening labor market may play a role — but she believes that most people are also happy to keep politics outside of the workforce.
“We no longer tell people to bring their whole selves to work … in fact, we want the political part of them to stay home,” she explained. “Employers were worried about people leaving because they rolled back those kinds of measures, but people have stayed.”
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