The tides are shifting in the corporate diversity landscape, with Google steering away from its ambitious hiring targets for underrepresented groups.

Once a vocal champion of diversity, equity and inclusion, the tech giant is now revising its stance, echoing a broader trend of major US companies rolling back their DEI commitments.

Back in 2020, amid global protests following the murder of George Floyd, Google set out to diversify its leadership ranks, aiming for a 30% increase in underrepresented leaders by 2025.

The urgency was clear: at the time, 96% of Google’s US leadership was either white or Asian, and 73% of its global leadership was male, as Reuters reported.

CEO Sundar Pichai spearheaded this push, tying executive performance reviews to team diversity efforts. By 2024, the company had reportedly met 60% of these goals.

Fast forward to 2025, and the narrative has taken a sharp turn.

Parent company Alphabet’s Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi recently informed employees that while diversity remains a focus, “we will no longer have aspirational goals.”

To reflect this shift, Alphabet even removed a key DEI commitment from its annual US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing – an omission that hasn’t gone unnoticed.

The Alphabet Workers Union sees this move as part of a broader rollback in the tech industry, linking it to a right-wing, anti-worker agenda.

This is a real attack on gains that workers have made,” AWU President Parul Koul said.

Regulatory changes are also at play. As a federal contractor, Google must navigate recent legal shifts, including US Supreme Court rulings and executive orders impacting DEI initiatives.

While the company will retain employee groups such as Black Googler Network and Trans at Google, its once-bold DEI ambitions are being watered down.

Tech companies scrapping DEI: A turning point for HR

Google is not alone in this retreat. Meta scrapped its DEI programs earlier this year, while Amazon is phasing out “outdated” diversity initiatives.

For HR leaders, this signals a turning point. The pendulum that once swung in favour of DEI is now being pulled back by political and legal forces.

The challenge ahead? Unpacking workplace diversity where DEI efforts are reframed rather than abandoned outright.

Google’s decision to move away from explicit DEI hiring goals is part of a broader shift in corporate America, where businesses are reassessing their commitments in response to political, legal and financial pressures.

At its core, this is a tale of changing priorities. Google and other tech firms may have set ambitious diversity goals in response to global activism.

However, as political winds shifted, so too did corporate strategies.

The 2023 Supreme Court ruling against affirmative action in university admissions gave conservative groups ammunition to challenge corporate DEI programs. These groups argue that such policies unfairly prioritise race or gender over merit, and they have threatened lawsuits against companies that maintain DEI-based hiring preferences.

Google, as a federal contractor, faces an additional layer of complexity. Compliance with government regulations means constantly adapting to new executive orders and legal interpretations.

Anxieties around DEI in Corporate America

The tech giant is now walking a tightrope: maintaining internal diversity networks while pulling back from formal DEI hiring targets.

This delicate balancing act reflects broader anxieties across corporate America – how to foster inclusive workplaces without exposing themselves to legal or reputational risks.

The wider implications for HR leaders are profound. While outright DEI rollbacks may satisfy legal and political pressures, they risk alienating employees and damaging company culture.

Striking the right balance is key. Instead of relying on rigid numerical targets, businesses may shift towards inclusive leadership development, skills-based hiring, and workplace equity strategies that focus on outcomes rather than quotas.

DEI efforts aren’t disappearing – they’re evolving. Even as the formal frameworks around DEI change, their value remains integral to company culture today.