IBM—Eliminated DEI department and Diversity Council after pressure from Heritage Foundation
In April 2025, IBM eliminated its DEI department and Diversity Council (established in the 1990s), stopped linking executive compensation to workforce diversity targets, and altered its supplier diversity program. The changes came after conservative activist Robby Starbuck contacted IBM in February and Heritage Foundation filed a shareholder proposal. CEO Arvind Krishna announced the changes via memo and video to employees.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEI Programs | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (1 signal)
Eliminated DEI department and Diversity Council after pressure from Heritage Foundation
In April 2025, IBM eliminated its DEI department and Diversity Council (established in the 1990s), stopped linking executive compensation to workforce diversity targets, and altered its supplier diversity program. The changes came after conservative activist Robby Starbuck contacted IBM in February and Heritage Foundation filed a shareholder proposal. CEO Arvind Krishna announced the changes via memo and video to employees.