Accenture scraps range and inclusion targets, memo says

Julie Candy, CEO and Chair of Accenture. File
| Picture Credit score: Reuters

Accenture has scrapped its international range and inclusion targets after an analysis of the altering U.S. political panorama, in keeping with an inner memo seen by Reuters on Friday (February 7, 2025).

The corporate will begin “sunsetting” the range targets it set in 2017, together with profession improvement applications for “individuals of particular demographic teams”, mentioned the memo from CEO Julie Candy.

Massive tech firms Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are amongst a sequence of corporations that had scrapped their range, fairness, and inclusion (DEI) targets main as much as and after Republican Donald Trump’s return to the U.S. presidency.

Ms. Candy mentioned Accenture’s coverage change adopted an “analysis of our inner insurance policies and practices and the evolving panorama in america, together with current govt orders with which we should comply”.

Since taking workplace on January 20, Mr. Trump has issued plenty of govt orders geared toward dismantling DEI applications throughout the federal authorities and the personal sector.

Individually, Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi on Wednesday (February 5, 2025) in a notice to workers mentioned the Justice Division would “examine, remove, and penalize” unlawful range applications within the personal sector.

Together with rolling again Accenture’s DEI targets — which Ms. Candy mentioned would not be used to measure workers efficiency — the corporate will pause submitting information to exterior range benchmarking surveys, the memo mentioned.

It could additionally consider exterior partnerships on the subject “as a part of refreshing our expertise technique”, Ms. Candy mentioned within the memo.

Consistent with targets set in 2017 and 2020, girls at present make up 48% of Accenture’s workforce and 30% of managing director roles, in keeping with its newest annual report.

The corporate, which hires extensively from India, had additionally introduced race and ethnicity targets for the U.S. and the U.Okay. in 2020.

Proxy advisory agency Institutional Shareholder Providers really useful on Friday that Apple buyers vote towards a proposal to contemplate eliminating the iPhone maker’s DEI insurance policies. (Reporting by Rishi Kant and Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Modifying by Devika Syamnath and Maju Samuel)