61 S&P 100 companies have removed diversity criteria for upcoming board members since 2023, according to an ESGAUGE analysis of filings and governance documents for Bloomberg News. Companies such as Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Starbucks Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co have eliminated diversity requirements for directors in the last three years. Companies removing diversity criteria for board members ESGAUGE analysis of corporate filings found that companies that had previously referenced gender, race, ethnicity, or underrepresented groups in board-selection criteria had removed that terminology. Companies like Micro Devices
Dr Erica Schwartz will be the first Black woman to lead the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The Senate confirmed Schwartz in a 51-44 vote on Wednesday, 5 August. Schwartz, who will run the federal agency that primarily focuses on infectious diseases, was Trump’s third nominee for the position in 18 months. Dr, Erica Schwartz becoming the first Black woman to lead the CDC Schwartz will serve during a time when the US is facing a significant rise in Measles in three decades, low childhood vaccination rates and a
The number of ethnic minorities and women appointed to S&P 500 corporate boards has dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade. This data comes from new research by executive search firm Spencer Stuart, with Reuters interviews delving into the topic further. This comes after President Trump revoked a six-decade-old executive order that prohibited workplace discrimination by federal contractors. Low level of ethnic minorities and women in S&P 500 Research from Spencer Stuart found that only 40% of the 364 new independent directors selected for S&P 500 boards
The US Department of Justice has accused the University of California, San Diego’s medical school of discriminating against White and Asian applicants by favouring Black and Hispanic applicants. The DOJ believes that UC San Diego’s medical school violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law bans discrimination based on race, colour, or national origin in initiatives or activities that receive federal aid. The DOJ accusing UC San Diego of discrimination against white students In a letter published on Monday, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s civil rights division,
Nike faced a federal EEOC investigation in Missouri after the Trump administration moved in court on Feb. 4, 2026, to compel information tied to allegations of anti-white discrimination. Andrea Lucas, a commissioner on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (E.E.O.C), sent a 26-page memo to several agency officials, stating that Nike had been discriminating against white employees and job applicants. Lucas, who has been appointed to the commission by President Trump during his first term, claimed that the retailer used internal processes to promote racial representation, even though it removed white
Civil rights organisations and nonprofits are supporting a letter signed by members of Congress that calls for transparency about the effects of the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI. In February, members of Congress demanded records highlighting the effects of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) rollbacks, according to a press release. In the letter, lawmakers sought out information about how President Donald Trump’s actions affected the federal workforce. “Your administration has slashed billions of dollars in DEIA-related funding, as well as jeopardised nearly $1 billion in life-saving National Institutes of
The US Department of Justice believes that Elon Musk’s company, xAI, should be able to violate the Clean Air Act solely because the Trump administration says so. The DOJ’s statements follow the NAACP’s Clean Air Act citizen suit against xAI, alleging that it violates the Clean Air Act and poses a risk to local communities’ health. “Laws like the Clean Air Act are a bedrock insurance policy for communities to hold polluters accountable for decisions that cause them harm. This should not be up for debate, and the NAACP will
The word “Black” has been erased from a set of bills aimed at addressing the Black maternal health crisis, according to The 19th. The Momnibus Act, which was filed in March, was called the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act in 2023, and was previously known as the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021 and the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2020. Changes to the word ‘Black’ in the bill References to the word “Black” in the bill have changed over time. In 2020, the text included numerous references to Black women. These were
PayPal and the Department of Justice have agreed to a settlement concerning the company’s 2020 DEI initiative, which invested in Black and minority businesses. PayPal is required to launch a new Small Business Initiative that excludes characteristics such as race, according to a press release. “This Department of Justice is delivering on President Trump’s vow to root out illegal DEI from every corner of corporate America,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. PayPal’s settlement with the Department of Justice In 2020, PayPal announced the discriminatory Economic Opportunity Fund, which provided $530
IBM has agreed to pay $17 million to the US Department of Justice to settle allegations of illegal DEI practices, as CNN reported. The DOJ believes that the tech company engaged in illegal DEI practices” by factoring in “race, color, national origin, or sex” when hiring or promoting employees. The settlement “IBM is pleased to have resolved this matter. Our workforce strategy is driven by a single principle: having the right people with the right skills that our clients depend on,” an IBM spokesperson told TechCrunch. In May 2025, the
