(Bigstock Image)As President Trump issues directives to scuttle every federal government initiative that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion, tech giants and other businesses across the Pacific Northwest are charting their own DEI courses.Costco and Microsoft are being recognized nationally for retaining a public commitment to workforce diversity, with Costco shareholders on Thursday defeating an anti-DEI proposal by a 98% vote. At the same time, Amazon in December shared with employees that it was “winding down” some of its efforts in diversity and inclusion, but still viewed the work as “important.” Boeing has pulled back even further, reportedly dismantling its DEI team.Efforts to support more equity in the workforce are under attack by Republicans and activists who characterize it as “reverse discrimination” that is unfair — particularly to white men — and puts race and gender ahead of merit when making employment decisions.The murder of George Floyd in 2020 sparked DEI initiatives across corporations, but the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision banning affirmative action in higher education and the increasing anti-diversity rhetoric from conservative leaders have caused some employers to reverse course.Companies such as Meta, Target, Walmart, and others that have rolled back their diversity programs said they did so because DEI has become so politically charged. They also cited changes in how the courts are legally viewing DEI, and they say they can support widespread inclusion in their workforce through different programs.In its memo to employees, Meta — which no longer has a team focused on DEI — said that it would stop using the “diverse slate approach” for hiring. “This practice has always been subject to public debate and is currently being challenged,” Meta said. “We believe there are other ways to build an industry-leading workforce and leverage teams made up of world-class people from all types of backgrounds to build products that work for everyone.”Amelia Ransom, who has led workplace diversity efforts at Smartsheet, Avalara and Nordstrom, questioned the initial motivation for businesses who are dropping DEI efforts.“The companies that have pulled back on DEI, some of them were using DEI as an insurance policy, not a strategic initiative,” Ransom said.For businesses in the “insurance policy” mindset, inclusion efforts were a shield against the risk of public criticisms that they didn’t support diversity, she said

Regulations are set to double by 2027. Comprehensive, free resource helps enterprises make sense of growing pay reporting requirements.SEATTLE, Jan. 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Syndio , the leader in pay equity, reporting, and transparency solutions, unveiled its Pay Gap Reporting Hub today, arming global organizations with a set of comprehensive guides to efficiently understand pay gap reporting requirements across 43 countries and 48 associated jurisdictions. The hub maps the regulatory landscape across six continents, offering organizations detailed guidance and best practices to comply with an increasingly complex web of requirements. Publishing of the hub comes at a crucial time, as organizations face a transformative wave of new pay reporting and transparency regulations, including the EU Pay Transparency Directive, with the first pay gap reports due in 2027 based on 2026 compensation data."Let's face it: pay gap reporting has become a global maze, and organizations need a reliable guide to find their way through," said Christine Hendrickson, VP of Strategic Initiatives at Syndio. Syndio's Pay Gap Reporting Hub delivers exactly that—comprehensive, actionable insights that make compliance manageable