Thought Leadership
In view of US President Donald Trump’s policies, the software giant SAP does not want to specifically promote the proportion of women in the Group any further.
The targeted quota of 40 percent of the workforce will be abandoned, according to an internal email obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The “Handelsblatt” had previously reported on this.
Due to the latest legal developments, the company’s own diversity and inclusion initiatives need to be adapted to comply with applicable law, it said. In addition to the abolition of the overall quota for women in the Group, women will no longer be specifically promoted to management positions at certain levels at SAP.
In response to an inquiry from Handelsblatt, SAP confirmed that there has been a change in the criteria for Executive Board remuneration. The internal email also states that the Diversity and Inclusion Office and the Corporate Social Responsibility department will be merged.
Trump’s campaign against DEI
Diversity programs are actually intended to support disadvantaged groups of people. However, since taking office, US President Trump and his administration have been waging a campaign against the programs, which are known in the US under the acronym DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion).
The argument is that favoring some population groups puts others at a disadvantage. Trump, his ministers and even tech billionaire Elon Musk argue that such initiatives are harming skills. There is no evidence for this.
Other companies with large US operations have also made concessions in the recent past: at the beginning of April, it was announced that Telekom subsidiary T-Mobile US was largely abandoning its DEI initiatives. In a letter to the US regulatory authority FCC, it was stated that specific targets were to be discarded. The day after the letter, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved T-Mobile US’ proposed acquisition of cable operator Lumos. “T-Mobile US is characterized by the fact that its employees and suppliers bring a variety of skills and backgrounds to the table,” emphasized a Group spokesperson when asked.
dpa
