Deloitte tells government teams to drop gender pronouns
Deloitte US last week told its government practice consultants to scrub gender pronouns from their email signatures, according to a Financial Times report.
People familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the 15,000 employees in Deloitte’s government practice were notified of the directive via email, with the company saying the move sought to “align with emerging government client practices and requirements.”
US President Donald Trump signed several executive orders last month to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies in the federal government. Federal contractors – including many major consulting firms – have been rushing to align with the policy shift and avoid the potential cancelation of contracts.
Accenture, another major government contractor, also recently scrapped many of its DEI policies – including hiring strategies and career development programs.
Deloitte in a separate email on Monday notified its employees that it was planning to sunset its annual diversity report and wider DEI programming.
The consultancies join a wider cascade of DEI program deprecation, which was already proceeding cautiously beforehand, but took on added momentum upon Trump’s return to office. Many companies have been looking for avenues to scrap the DEI programs that were mass-adopted in the wake of the George Floyd protests in 2020 – and the Trump executive orders have provided the necessary social and political permission.
Google last week announced its was scrapping DEI hiring targets and was reviewing other DEI initiatives, while Meta said it was ending its DEI programs for hiring, training, and choosing suppliers.
