McDonald’s steps back from DEI program

In a letter to franchise owners, restaurant operators, employees, and suppliers, McDonald’s top executives revealed that the fast food restaurant was back off of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Instead, the company said it will now focus on inclusion.

McDonald’s CEO and Chairman Chris Kempczinski said, inclusion was one of the company’s “core values” during the past year and it opened its doors to millions of customers, along with two million crew members, from all walks of life.

“We’re proud of our culture at McDonald’s, and we want to thank all of you for living our values,” the letter reads.

Among the goals achieved by McDonald’s in 2024 is having over 30% of U.S. leadership from underrepresented groups while achieving gender pay equity at all levels of the company. McDonald’s also noted that it has made an effort to recruit potential franchisees from underrepresented groups, including making progress toward addressing cashflow gaps across its franchisee groups.

“Our business model relies on franchisees supporting their communities. Part of our commitment includes empowering them to champion causes and participate in activities that resonate with their customers and communities in a way that’s true to our Brand’s DNA,” McDonald’s executive team said.

Additionally, McDonald’s conducted a civil rights audit within the company last year.

But McDonald’s said it is now “retiring setting aspirational representation goals” in favor of inclusion practices. This includes pausing external surveys to focus on internal practices. The company is also moving away from its Supply Chain’s Mutual Commitment to DEI pledge in favor of discussions with suppliers about inclusion and how it relates to business performance.

The corporation’s diversity team is also getting a name change and has been renamed as the Global Inclusion Team. McDonald’s said the new name “better aligns with this team’s work.”

“We are proud of the work that we do at McDonald’s,” McDonald’s executive team says in the letter. “We will continue to drive business results through all three legs of the McDonald’s stool, specifically with our people practices, by fueling economic impact and innovation through our robust supply chain and by building a franchisee pipeline that thrives in the communities we serve and fuels our growth.”

Executives in the letter include Kempczinski; Skye Anderson, president of global business services; Jon Banner, executive vice president and global chief impact officer; Ian Borden, global chief financial officer; Tiffanie Boyd. global chief people officer; and Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, among others.