Corporate America Is Rethinking Diversity Hiring

Some companies change diversity programs under legal attack

Longtime affirmative action foe Edward Blum, who successfully challenged race-related college admissions policies at the US Supreme Court, is now pursuing law firms with diversity hiring programs that he calls “racially discriminatory.”

Photographer: Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg
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The same conservative activists who helped gut race-related college admissions at the US Supreme Court have now set their sights on corporate diversity programs, barraging airlines, tech giants and law firms with lawsuits and complaints. And they’re already having an effect.

The court’s landmark June ruling against affirmative action on campus didn’t cover businesses, many of which launched diversity, equity and inclusion programs after George Floyd’s 2020 murder by a White Minneapolis police officer. But as the conservative movement targets DEI, some companies have scaled back their efforts.