Accenture scraps diversity and inclusion goals, memo says

Accenture scraps diversity goals amid U.S. political changes, following other tech giants, impacting DEI programs and partnerships.

Accenture has scrapped its global diversity and inclusion goals after an evaluation of the changing U.S. political landscape, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Friday (February 7, 2025).

The company will start "sunsetting" the diversity goals it set in 2017, along with career development programs for "people of specific demographic groups", said the memo from CEO Julie Sweet.

Big tech companies Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are among a series of firms that had scrapped their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals leading up to and after Republican Donald Trump's return to the U.S. presidency.

Ms. Sweet said Accenture's policy change followed an "evaluation of our internal policies and practices and the evolving landscape in the United States, including recent executive orders with which we must comply".

Since taking office on January 20, Mr. Trump has issued a number of executive orders aimed at dismantling DEI programs across the federal government and the private sector.

Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday (February 5, 2025) in a note to staff said the Justice Department would "investigate, eliminate, and penalize" illegal diversity programs in the private sector.

Along with rolling back Accenture's DEI targets — which Ms. Sweet said would no longer be used to measure staff performance — the company will pause submitting data to external diversity benchmarking surveys, the memo said.