The headlines about companies quietly or boldly cancelling diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts, or scaling back commitments, don't seem to be disappearing anytime soon. McDonald’s recently joined the list of companies who are shifting DEI strategies given the changing legal landscape in light of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning affirmative action. Boeing Company, Ford Motor, Harley Davidson, Lowe’s and Walmart are just a few of the companies rolling back their DEI initiatives last year as well. And as these initiatives get re-evaluated, this will have a significant impact on women’s advancement in the workplace.
"For the first time in 10 years, we are seeing a drop in companies’ commitment to both gender and racial diversity,” Rachel Thomas, cofounder and CEO of LeanIn, said. "That’s, of course, concerning for us.” According to the LeanIn and McKinsey Women in the Workplace report, which is the one of the largest studies reflecting the state of women in the U.S. workplace, the number of companies who identified gender diversity as a high priority dropped: 87 percent in 2019 to 78 percent in 2024. This reflects what McDonald’s also shared, stating that it will "retire specific goals for achieving diversity at senior leadership levels."
According to a USA Today analysis, women are outnumbered 5 to 1 in senior leadership when looking at the country’s 100 largest publicly traded companies, with the gap even wider for women of color. Many of the initiatives that have been key in helping women in advance in their career could be scaled back or coming to an end. As leaders, here's how we can be doing our part to ensure for women in the workplace don’t fall even further behind.
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