Google Stops Diversity Hirings After Trump's Sledgehammer on DEI Policies

Photo : Reuters

Google, the famous search company from the U.S., said on Thursday that it will no longer hire more people from underrepresented groups. The company will also look at its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to see if changes are needed.

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Fiona Cicconi, who works as the chief people officer of Google’s parent company Alphabet, sent an email to share the news. She said that in 2020, Google made a plan to hire more people from different backgrounds and to grow offices outside of California and New York. But now, Google says it will stop having these hiring goals.

Google also said it will check the changes that Donald Trump made, which tried to stop DEI programs in the government and in companies that work with the government.

However, Google will still have some groups inside the company to help employees. These groups include “Trans at Google,” “Black Googler Network,” and the “Disability Alliance.” These groups help workers understand decisions about products and company policies.

This comes after Trump signed an order to stop DEI programs in government offices. He also told the government to check if money was being spent on these programs.

Google made a promise in 2020 after George Floyd’s death. The company said it would try to hire 30% more leaders from underrepresented groups by 2025. Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, announced this goal at the time.

In 2021, Google started to check how well its leaders were doing at hiring diverse teams. This was after a worker was fired for speaking out against Google’s DEI work.

By 2024, Google’s diversity officer, Melonie Parker, said the company had reached about 60% of its goal.

Google is not the only big company making changes. In January, Meta, the company behind Facebook, said it was also stopping its DEI programs. Amazon also said it was stopping old programs about diversity and inclusion in a memo to workers.

Some people criticize DEI programs because they believe these programs sometimes give unfair advantages to people from underrepresented groups, even if they are not as qualified as others.