Dr. Karin Schambach, founder and CEO of Indigo Headhunters and head of the Practice Asset & Wealth Management, comments on the current development in the USA to end diversity programs.
"More masculine energy" for the Meta corporation. That was demanded by Mark Zuckerberg n January 2025 in an interview. As an entrepreneur, recruitment consultant, European, and as a woman, I am shocked by the anti-diversity trend in the USA. Companies are preemptively canceling their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies (DEI) ahead of Donald Trump's presidency, or at least they no longer want to create verifiable reports. This has already been announced by some very large corporations like McDonald's or Meta.
Turnaround in the USA
Were women's promotion, cultural diversity, and LGBTIQ commitments just marketing? To convince investors when it was still considered an important criterion for a creative, innovative, and forward-thinking company? Just a few months ago, a statement like that of Mark Zuckerberg would have been a reason for certain investor groups not to invest in such companies. And now the claim "go woke, go broke" is circulating in the USA. Even Apple, which still maintains its diversity programs, is likely already feeling the pressure from some major shareholders to follow the new trend as quickly as possible.
A diverse corporate culture contributes to economic success
Where are we heading? Will European, German companies follow suit because it will soon be tactically and economically necessary to yield to the pressure from the USA? Or will Europe be able to assert itself and stick to its diversity values?
I am surprised that one of the main arguments, that a diverse corporate culture contributes to economic success, does not stop this trend. Not to mention the pursuit of justice, equality, and equal treatment in economy and society. Are we now seeing setbacks here compared to what was aimed for?
Many German and European companies have been building for years through special entry programs, internal training, and further education offers so that as many qualified people as possible get the same chance to reach the top if they deliver the corresponding performance. Should the wheel of diversity be turned back? I very much hope that Europe will resist this.
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