List of large corporations ditching DEI policies keeps growing

Several major companies operating in the U.S. are backing away from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, while educational institutions are continuing to push such initiatives.

McDonald's on Monday became the latest major American corporation to reverse some of its diversity policies. Over the course of about a year, at least 25 companies have relaxed their DEI policies amid pressure.

Republican political activists and advisers have pushed companies to cancel their diversity-oriented policies, including America First Legal President Stephen Miller and conservative activist Robby Starbuck. Miller has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and Homeland Security Advisor in his second administration.

However, while corporate America has started easing off DEI policies, many educational institutions are moving in the opposite direction, according to Goldwater Institute Director of Education Policy Mike Beienburg.

“Fortunately, I think the momentum is starting to run out from this,” Beienburg told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show on Tuesday. “You know, we're seeing companies that are pulling back from this, but when it comes to education, we are seeing full steam ahead.

“They're retreating in some areas, you know, pulling back on these forced diversity statements where they're making, you know, applicants say, ‘I support treating students differently based upon race,’ or ‘I support battling the so-called, you know, systemic oppression.’ But even as they're making some retreats here, we're still seeing them double down on these issues of putting DEI forward and saying, we're going to force students … to go in and continue to take these courses.”

Some companies, such as Costco and Jaguar, are also doubling down on diversity-focused policies.

 According to a report released by The Heritage Foundation in November, almost all Fortune 500 companies still maintain DEI incentives.

Here is a list of the companies that have revised or canceled their DEI policies, or reduced staffing for their programs:

• American Airlines

• Boeing

• Caterpillar

• CNN

• Coors

• DoorDash

• Ford

• Google

• Harley-Davidson

• Jack Daniels' owner Brown Forman

• John Deere

• Lowe's

• Lyft

• McDonald’s

• Microsoft

• Nissan

• Polaris

• Snapchat 

• Stanley Black & Decker

• Tesla

• Toyota

• Tractor Supply Co.

• Walmart

• Wayfair

• Zoom