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Fiona Cicconi, Alphabet’s chief people officer, in an email to staff says the company will no longer set aspirational hiring goals, a shift from its previous strategy to improve representation, especially outside California and New York.
Previously, Google had been a strong advocate for diversity, especially following the 2020 protests against police killings of Black Americans. (File Photo: AFP)
Alphabet’s Google is scrapping its goal to hire more employees from underrepresented groups and reassessing its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, aligning with a growing trend among U.S. companies scaling back such efforts. Fiona Cicconi, Alphabet’s chief people officer, announced in an email to staff that the company will no longer set aspirational hiring goals, a shift from its previous strategy to improve representation, especially outside California and New York.
The move follows similar decisions by other tech companies like Meta and Amazon, which have also scaled back their DEI initiatives, amidst growing opposition from conservative groups.
“In 2020, we set aspirational hiring goals and focused on growing our offices outside California and New York to improve representation…but in the future we will no longer have aspirational goals,” said Fiona Cicconi, Alphabet’s chief people officer, in an email to staff on Wednesday, a copy which was reviewed by Reuters.
Previously, Google had been a strong advocate for diversity, especially following the 2020 protests against police killings of Black Americans. At that time, CEO Sundar Pichai set a goal to increase the number of leaders from underrepresented groups by 30% by 2025, aiming to diversify the leadership, where 96% were white or Asian, and 73% were male. By 2021, the company began evaluating executive performance based on team diversity. However, as of 2024, Google had only met 60% of its five-year goals, according to Melonie Parker, the Chief Diversity Officer.
Alphabet’s recent SEC filing revealed the removal of a line from its annual report that had previously emphasized its commitment to diversity and inclusion, citing the ongoing review of its DEI programs. This move has sparked criticism, with Parul Koul, president of the Alphabet Workers Union, describing it as an attack on the progress made in the tech industry’s fight against racism, gender, and LGBTQ discrimination.
Google, which works as a federal contractor, is also reviewing how recent policy changes and court decisions, including those related to DEI in government contracts, will impact its programs. However, it will continue supporting internal employee groups like “Trans at Google,” the “Black Googler Network,” and the “Disability Alliance,” which play a role in shaping the company’s products and policies.
