Almost immediately after announcing new content rules that allow users to abuse LGBTQ+ people, Meta has announced that it will be ending all of its major diversity, equity, and inclusion programs effective immediately.
Keep up with the latest in LGBTQ+ news and politics. Sign up for The Advocate's email newsletter.
A changing landscape
The company behind Facebook, Instagram, and Threads sent out an internal memo obtained by Axios Friday, which will affect both hiring and training practices, as well as its decisions on which suppliers to work with. Vice president of human resources Janelle Gale said that the decision comes as the "legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing."
"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," Gale wrote. "The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. … The term 'DEI' has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others."
Related: These 11 major companies caved to the far right and stopped DEI programs
Goodbye, DEI?
The changes include completely axing Meta's DEI team — the company's chief diversity officer, Maxine Williams, will enter a new role focused on "accessibility and engagement." Instead of prioritizing partnering with diverse businesses, Meta will "focus our efforts on supporting small and medium-sized businesses that power much of our economy."
Instead of inclusion-based efforts, Gale wrote that the company would be creating programs "that focus on how to apply fair and consistent practices that mitigate bias for all, no matter your background." Meta will also be ending its representation goals, which Gale claimed "can create the impression that decisions are being made based on race or gender," adding, "While this has never been our practice, we want to eliminate any impression of it."
A disturbing leak
Meta's internal announcement comes shortly after leaked training materials reviewed by Platformer and The Intercept reveal that moderators on the company's sites are now instructed to allow posts calling LGBTQ+ people “mentally ill” and denying the existence of transgender people. Posts like “A trans person isn’t a he or she, it’s an it” and “There’s no such thing as trans children” are deemed nonviolating under the new policies. Users are also now permitted to refer to women as "property."
Meta has also faced backlash for shadowbanning LGBTQ+ creators and restricting access to LGBTQ-related hashtags like #gay, #trans, and #nonbinary under its “sensitive content” policies.
