McDonald’s announced Monday it is “modifying” some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion practices following a Civil Rights Audit last year, a benchmarking of other companies, and engagement with shareholders.
McDonald’s also cited a shifting legal landscape created by the United States Supreme Court ruling in Students For Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College in June 2023 and is anticipating “how this ruling may impact corporations such as McDonald’s.”
The modifications include the retirement of “aspirational” representation goals and pausing external surveys such as the one conducted annually by the Human Rights Campaign, a benchmarking tool that measures policies, practices, and benefits for LGBTQ+ employees to drive workplace inclusion. McDonald’s has scored a 100% rating on the index for the past two years.
Additionally, McDonald’s is retiring its supply chain’s “mutual commitment to DEI” pledge, initially introduced in 2021. In its place, the company said it is focusing on a “more integrated discussion with suppliers about inclusion as it relates to business performance.”
In light of these changes, McDonald’s diversity team will now be referred to as the “Global Inclusion Team.”
These updates were sent to owner/operators, company employees, and suppliers around the world on Monday and signed by its executive team, including chief executive officer Chris Kempczinski. In the message, McDonald’s stated that inclusion remains one of its core values, adding that in 2024, more than 30% of its U.S. leaders were from underrepresented groups, while gender pay equity at all levels in every market was achieved.
Further, the chain met its goal of 25% of diverse-owned supplier spend by the end of 2025, four years ahead of schedule. On the franchisee side, McDonald’s said it recruited the largest Registered Applicant pipeline in recent years, including the largest number of RAs from underrepresented groups in its history.
“We are immensely proud of these accomplishments, but we are not satisfied. Our commitment to inclusion requires ongoing focus, and following these successes the (senior leadership team) has reflected on how best to continue our efforts,” the message stated.
In addition to the aforementioned modifications, McDonald’s said it is also internally focusing on building a diverse employee, Registered Applicant, and supplier pipeline, continuing to hold McDonald’s leaders accountable for “fostering an inclusive environment within their teams,” and continuing to report demographic information annually as part of its Purpose and Impact Report.
McDonald’s is also introducing a new concept called “Golden Rule,” focused on treating “everyone with dignity, fairness and respect, always.” To evaluate this work, the chain has established four principles, including:
- Our system thrives when we are shaped by the communities in which we operate
- Our early and full adoption of inclusion gives us a competitive advantage
- Individuals perform their best when they feel they belong, and
- Our priority is to be a responsible business, acting lawfully and being responsive to the business environment.
“We are proud of the work that we do at McDonald’s,” the company concluded. “We will continue to drive business results through all three legs of the McDonald’s stool, specifically with our people practices, by fueling economic impact and innovation through our robust supply chain and by building a franchisee pipeline that thrives in the communities we serve and fuels our growth.”
McDonald’s is the latest company to adjust its DEI approach amid pushback from activists. Other companies that have rolled back DEI policies and pledges include Walmart, Brown-Forman, Tractor Supply, Boeing, and Harley-Davidson. Much of this pushback has been led by Robby Starbuck, who posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he warned McDonald’s three days ago he would be “exposing its woke policies.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
