McDonald’s is shifting its corporate policies by moving away from “woke” practices and prioritizing neutrality and merit over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The fast-food chain announced it will no longer enforce diversity hiring goals, which had been criticized as a form of quota system.
This decision follows public pressure from conservative voices, including commentator Robby Starbuck, who argued that such practices discriminated against certain groups.
Additionally, McDonald’s will stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and is restructuring its diversity team to focus on “global inclusion.”
Critics, however, view these changes as a superficial rebranding rather than a meaningful shift.
“McDonald’s, like many Fortune 500 companies, they have what they would call targets or goals. In reality, they work like racial quotas but they say these are certainly not quotas,” Starbuck explained in a video on X. “Imagine that, a merit-based system. This is what every company needs to be doing. The days of favoring one group of people over another based on diversity need to be gone.”
“We are the trend now. Don’t forget that,” Starbuck said on X. “Because we have raised our voices so many companies over two trillion dollars of companies have changed their policies and we will not stop until we make corporate America sane again.” He added, “We have raised our voices, so many companies, over two trillion dollars of companies, have changed their policies, and we will not stop until we make corporate America sane again.”