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Legendary toymaker Lego has dropped diversity and inclusion terminology from its annual sustainability report, amid ongoing legal and political shifts in the US.
Lego insists that the removal of language does not mean its stance on diversity and inclusion has changed, and as recently as December 2024, introduced new products designed to “promote inclusion.”
But terms such as diversity, LGBTQ+, and people of colour that were included in the company’s 2023 annual sustainability report were omitted from the 2024 edition.
What diversity terminology has Lego removed?
In Lego's 2023 sustainability statement, diversity and inclusion terminology was front and centre.
An introductory letter from Niels B. Christiansen, CEO at the LEGO Group, began by promising the “hundreds” of children who send him letters each year that his business is “working hard to play our part in building a… more inclusive world for them to inherit.”
The letter ended with Christiansen emphasizing that Lego aims to “make a difference” by “embedding diversity & inclusion into the design of our LEGO products, experiences, marketing, and workplaces.”
References to diversity and inclusion were all but removed from 2024’s edition, along with language such as “LGBTQ+” and “people of colour.”
The latest sustainability statement does include a breakdown of gender representation at the “Director+” level only, currently 57.1% male and 41.9% female, with a mission to achieve a 57/43 split by 2025 and a “gender balanced organisation by 2032.”
However, carefully selected language specifies that targets are “ambition only” and that appointments are “made on merit,” aligning Lego with terminology used by the US government.
In the first two months of his administration, President Trump moved quickly to shut down DEI programs across government departments and federal contractors, issuing a series of executive orders that branded DEI as “illegal discrimination.”
The White House urged private sector businesses to “end illegal DEI discrimination” and restore “merit-based opportunity.”
The change in government policy has prompted many high-profile firms such as Meta, Google, JPMorgan, Accenture, and Walmart to eliminate DEI programs, policies, and departments, or to rebrand diversity and inclusion measures under new terminology.
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Some of those employers have specified that changes to DEI policy or terminology were made to align with government policy. At Meta, for example, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said: “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."
Similarly, Google Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi said that the tech giant’s policy shift was made “to comply with recent court decisions and U.S. Executive Orders.”
What does Lego say about its stance on DEI?
The report comes just months after Lego’s latest diversity and inclusion initiative kicked off in December 2024, in partnership with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.
According to a blog post on Lego’s website, a range of new products were created to mark 2024’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities, featuring the official ‘Sunflower lanyard,’ a symbol used across the globe by individuals to discreetly share that they have a non-visible disability.
The partnership, designed to promote “awareness and inclusion across different age groups and themes,” also included a bespoke training program aimed at equipping people leaders to create a more inclusive work culture for people with disabilities.
Lauren von Stackelberg, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer and VP at the LEGO Group said: “Workplace representation is critical to embed across your business as it reflects our consumers and communities, fosters belonging, and enables everyone to thrive."
“By embedding diversity and inclusion in everything we do, we make LEGO play and experiences more accessible and positively impact the lives of our colleagues, consumers, and communities,” she added.
Despite the omission of language around diversity and inclusion in the 2024 sustainability report, Lego remains insistent that diversity and inclusion initiatives are still a crucial part of its strategy.
“Every year we review and adapt our reporting to ensure it complies with latest requirements and reflects our plans and results,” a spokesperson told The Guardian. “The 2024 sustainability statement does not represent a change in our ongoing approach to diversity and inclusion.”
Unlike some companies, Lego has kept up a webpage detailing its stance on diversity and inclusion.
