Dive Brief:
- McDonald’s announced a step back from diversity, equity and inclusion — and signaled a shift to “inclusion” — in a Jan. 6 statement.
- Sunsetting representation goals, “pausing external surveys” and retiring its supply chain’s commitment to DEI were among the fast food company’s latest objectives.
- “Everyone is welcome under our Golden Arches, and this broad-based appeal is why McDonald’s is one of the world’s most beloved brands,” the statement, sent to workers via email and posted publicly, said.
Dive Insight:
The shift in strategy comes as a result of work done last year, McDonald’s said, including a “comprehensive Civil Rights Audit.” Leadership also partnered with shareholders to “understand their expectations” and “assessed the overall landscape of shareholder proposals.”
Shareholders are increasingly becoming part of the DEI conversation; see: Lululemon’s recent conflict around stock drops and their tie to the company’s ongoing struggles with DEI.
McDonald’s also announced it would be changing the program’s name. Many corporate DEI teams are opting for similar-but-different-enough names, typically those that focus on “belonging” or “culture.”
“We are evolving how we refer to our diversity team, which will now be the Global Inclusion Team,” the company said. The name is more “fitting” and “better aligns with this team’s work,” it continued.
Part of the statement highlighted the company’s franchise model, and how community outreach and empowerment factors into McDonald’s brand “DNA.” It added, “McDonald’s leaders will continue to be held accountable for fostering an inclusive environment within their teams.”
HR Dive reached out for additional comment regarding the changes to inclusion policy, and McDonald’s referred back to its posted statement.
