Microsoft laid off an internal team focused on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the company earlier this month, citing “changing business needs” that have shifted priorities away from the DEI agenda. First reported by Business Insider, the former leader of the DEI team lamented in an email that “true systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020.”
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In 2020, during the height of the racial unrest following the death of George Floyd, Microsoft and other major tech companies pledged to hire and promote record numbers of Black employees and executives. Microsoft promised to double the number of Black leaders within the company by 2025, but its progress toward this goal remains unclear.
Since that racial reckoning, many tech companies have pulled back from these efforts and distanced themselves from DEI programs, with Zoom, Meta, and Google all cutting their DEI departments in the last year.
“Our D&I commitments remain unchanged,” a Microsoft spokesperson, Jeff Jones, said in a statement. “Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering and we are holding firm on our expectations, prioritizing accountability, and continuing to focus on this work.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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