Trump pushes companies to abandon DEI initiatives but these businesses wont back down

A slew of American companies have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives over the past year amid pressure from activists and concerns over legal risks, but many are standing firm despite pushback.Significant brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Amazon, Ford and Lowe’s have all begun rolling back DEI initiatives in response to a cultural shift that included customer backlash, pressure from conservative-leaning groups and activists, and possible legal ramifications. President Donald Trump made promises during the campaign to scale back federal DEI programs.In his first week back in office, Trump signed an executive order ending DEI offices and initiatives across the federal workforce. Trump even slammed DEI initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during a press conference related to the deadly midair collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S.

Army Black Hawk helicopter over the Potomac River near Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. All 64 passengers aboard the plane and the three crew members aboard the helicopter were killed. With the investigation at such an early stage, information publicly available at this time does not suggest DEI initiatives at the FAA played any part in the crash.

Still, it didn’t stop the president from signing a memorandum to end DEI practices in the aviation sector. Despite the rollback put in place by a number of companies and the political pressure under Trump, some companies are holding fast and maintaining their DEI policies. Here are five of the biggest companies that have doubled down on DEI:In a proxy filing ahead of Apple’s upcoming annual meeting, the company’s board of directors urged shareholders to reject a proposal that would require the company to end its DEI programs, arguing the move would be “unnecessary.”Costco’s board of directors came out unanimously against a proposal calling for a report on the risks associated with ke...