Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has defended the company's recent rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, telling employees the changes were necessary to stay in compliance with evolving legal and regulatory frameworks.
Speaking at an all-hands meeting, Zuckerberg said the Facebook owner had to adapt to a shifting environment in which policies perceived to advantage certain groups could be deemed unlawful under his associate Donald Trump’s regulatory stance.
“The way to think about this is we’re in the middle of a pretty rapidly changing policy and regulatory landscape that increasingly views any policy that might advantage any one group of people over another as something that is unlawful, and because of that, we need to adjust,” Zuckerberg said.
DEI rollback
While reaffirming Meta’s commitment to diversity as a “strength,” Zuckerberg acknowledged that specific DEI initiatives had been restructured or removed. “Historically, we’ve had a handful of specific programs that were very focused on certain underrepresented groups,” he said.
“The policy and legal direction on a lot of this is that you can’t do things that advantage specific groups, even if you’re trying to make up for other things.”
The rollback reflects a trend among some US corporations that are scaling back DEI efforts in response to legal challenges and political pressure. Companies such as Walmart, McDonald’s, and Target have also recently adjusted their DEI strategies amid conservative criticism and court rulings limiting race-conscious policies.
"Buckle up"
Zuckerberg’s remarks came as part of a wider discussion on Meta’s 2025 strategy, in which he urged employees to “buckle up” for an intense year ahead. He outlined ambitions for artificial intelligence (AI), including a goal to develop a “highly intelligent and personalized” digital assistant that could reach one billion users.
The CEO also addressed Meta’s evolving relationship with governments, signaling a shift toward a more cooperative stance with US regulators. “After the last several years, we now have an opportunity to have a productive partnership with the United States government, and we’re going to take that,” Zuckerberg said.
Meta’s retreat from traditional DEI initiatives underscores how corporate strategies are increasingly being shaped by a changing political and legal landscape. The changes will inevitably have long-term implications for workplace diversity efforts, with companies reassessing how they attract and retain talent in a more constrained regulatory environment. Not all, companies and certainly not all workers are on board with the changes, however.