Reports of the death of DandI at Microsoft have been greatly exaggerated.
It’s the company’s response to a media snowball that misinterpreted the elimination of two diversity and inclusion roles on the event team — yes, two positions — as the prop for the entire diversity and inclusion team.
Microsoft says the larger company’s DandI team will remain intact. It is formally known as Microsoft’s Global Talent, Development, Diversity and Inclusion (GTDDI) team, led by Chief Diversity Officer Lindsay-Rae McIntyre.
Business Insider reported in its original story on July 15 that Microsoft had fired the “DEI team,” noting that the number of employees affected was unknown at the time.
Later reports, citing the Business Insider story, said that Microsoft was “the latest major company to abandon the wake-up call” and that the company “fired its entire diversity, equity and inclusion team.”
In doing so, the company was seen as part of a trend along with others, such as John Deere and Tractor Supply Co., which have significantly scaled back or eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in recent weeks.
However, Microsoft says the reports misrepresent what it does.
The company released this statement, reiterating what it has told other publications: “Moving forward, our DandI commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion remains steadfast, and we uphold our expectations, prioritize accountability and continue. focus on this job.”
The two roles removed from the Events team overlapped within the core GTDDI team and did not report to the core DandI team. Microsoft declined to say how many people are on the GTDDI team.
Broadly speaking, Microsoft has continued to cut jobs at the company, most recently in early July, after the end of the fiscal year.
The company is trying to maintain its profit margins amid higher capital expenditures designed to provide the cloud infrastructure needed to train and deploy models using artificial intelligence applications.
“DandI’s work has always been challenging, but this year has brought unique challenges,” McIntyre wrote in Microsoft’s 2023 Global Diversity and Inclusion Report. “The macroeconomic headwinds have affected many organizations and we have had to make difficult workforce changes at Microsoft, reducing headcount, particularly in the US.”
Several years ago, Microsoft joined other companies in pledging new investments in diversity initiatives following the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. Since then, the initiatives have come under pressure from the business and political worlds, Microsoft D&I cuts impact two positions.
Business Insider quoted a memo from a Microsoft team leader affected by the cuts: “The actual system change around DEI programs is no longer as business critical or smart as it was in 2020.” Inc. the column notes that Microsoft does not use the word “equality,” which is in line with a broader trend to emphasize “engagement first.” For years, Microsoft has reported its diversity metrics using the phrase “Diversity and Inclusion.” of.
