Marketing Briefing: Why DE&I becoming a flash point is part of ‘politicization of everything’

The state of corporate America’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) policies continue to be under a magnifying glass — with all eyes watching to see if a flame will spark from the heat. 

In recent weeks, major brands like Target, Walmart, Amazon, McDonald’s and Meta, have rolled back DE&I policies. It’s unclear whether they’re publicly doing so to appease the new White House administration. President Donald Trump is reportedly making DE&I a policy issue with an executive order this week that would stop the use of DE&I practices within the Department of Defense as well as Homeland Security. Other corporate behemoths like Costco, Apple, Microsoft, e.l.f. Beauty, JPMorgan and Goldman, meanwhile, have defended or publicly stood by their policies.

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