Two of America’s largest financial institutions appear to be walking back their commitments to left-wing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs now that the Trump administration is in charge.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and Bank of America scrapped language from their annual 10-K reports that promoted DEI initiatives and representation for various identity groups.
“BlackRock’s approach to building a connected and inclusive culture is aligned with the firm’s business priorities and long-term objectives. Delivering for the firm’s clients requires attracting the best people from across the world. BlackRock is committed to creating an environment that supports top talent and fosters diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink,” BlackRock’s 10-K reads.
BlackRock filed its 10-K Tuesday night with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document scrapped all mentions of DEI and a breakdown of its employees by gender and ethnicity, the Wall Street Journal reported. BlackRock declined to comment in response to an inquiry from National Review.
BlackRock’s new language is a far cry from progressive CEO Larry Fink’s 2021 letter to shareholders describing DEI as essential to the asset manager’s business.
“Just as we ask of other companies, we have a long-term strategy aimed at improving diversity, equity and inclusion at BlackRock,” Fink said. “To truly drive change, we must embed DEI into everything we do.”
Fink, a Democratic Party megadonor, echoed the sentiment felt across corporate America after the summer 2020 Black Lives Matter riots and racial unrest. Fink is also a leading corporate proponent of the environmental, social, and governance investment approach, one that purports to combine left-wing ideas with returns for investors. BlackRock’s ESG practices have faced scrutiny from red states for allegedly misleading consumers and unfairly targeting the oil and gas industry.
Likewise, Bank of America is ending its aspirational diversity hiring goals and replaced the DEI language in its 10-K with the words “talent” and “opportunity” instead, as Bloomberg first reported.
“We evaluate and adjust our programs in light of new laws, court decisions and, more recently, executive orders from the new administration,” a Bank of America spokesperson told NR in a statement.
“Our goal has been and continues to be to make opportunities available for all of our clients, shareholders, teammates and the communities we serve.”
BlackRock and Bank of America join the growing list of large corporations to scrap DEI policies in response to growing political and legal scrutiny. Conservative political activism, red state laws, and the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision banning race-based college admissions criteria prompted some corporations to begin pulling back DEI actions before President Donald Trump’s resounding electoral victory this past November. Meta, McDonald’s, and Walmart are among the large companies to walk back their DEI commitments since Trump’s victory.
President Trump’s executive orders have targeted DEI initiatives and employees inside the federal government and American institutions more broadly. Trump ended DEI in federal contracting and moved to fire all DEI employees working in the federal government. He has also given orders to cabinet officials to end DEI programming in their respective agencies.
Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to enforce his sweeping executive action on ending DEI practices that violate federal civil rights laws by discriminating based on certain characteristics.
Shortly after being confirmed, Bondi issued a memo to Justice Department staff informing them that the DOJ’s civil rights division will carry out Trump’s directive to ensure corporations and educational institutions are not conducting illegal DEI activities.
“To fulfill the Nation’s promise of equality for all Americans, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will investigate, eliminate, and penalize illegal DEI and DEIA preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities in the private sector and in educational institutions that receive federal funds,” Bondi said.
The Department of Education has also put educational institutions on notice that they could lose federal funding if they do not comply with Trump’s instructions on ending DEI programming and hiring.