Since the US government under President Donald Trump has stood in the way of the diversity campaigns widespread in the economy, the fear of sanctions has been growing in companies. If the commitment to diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) counted for almost all larger and international employers to the good tone, some row back in America since the political change of course. If companies want to remain “Woke”-such a mutation of diversity goals-they now have to expect resistance or live their values significantly more unobtrusive, instead of lying on the white house, powerful US companies such as the Supermarket chain Walmart, the Facebook operator Meta, the fast food chain McDonald’s or the digital company Amazon have short-handed pounded. But not only American companies roll the rainbow flag, which is so loved to demonstratively swiveled. European corporations are also increasingly under pressure and are forced to act to protect their US business. This is particularly clear using the example of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, whose CEO Thomas Schinecker had also announced in an email to his approximately 100,000 employees “Changes in the content, activities and programs in relation to the United States” worldwide (F.A.Z. of March 20, 2025). Fixed quotas for the occupation of management positions should no longer be pursued. The concerns about violations of Trump’s decrees are too great in Basel. Thomas Schinecker (Roche) EPAund How do German corporations react to the new requirements from Washington? The F.A.Z. has asked large German companies with a strong US relief. The basic tenor: On the one hand, many continue to commit to equality, diversity and inclusion at the workplace, but are currently observing exactly to what extent they have to adapt to the political and legal changes in the United States. It plays a role in how important government orders are for a company. Because the DEI decrees primarily bind US authorities and their procurement. Christian Klein (SAP) DPADAHER could have Trump’s push for far -reaching consequences for the software giant SAP. For the most valuable listed group in Germany, America is not only the largest single market by far – a third of the sales are incurred there. SAP also notes on the American stock exchange, and public administration is also an important customer. Board member Thomas Saueressig recently said F.A.Z. that even a large part of the American military’s supply logistics on SAP software. How to deal with Trump could therefore become a Gretchen question for the group. The decision is correspondingly delicate. Officially, it says: As a global company, SAP always benefited from an inclusive workforce. “We are currently reviewing the President’s executive orders regarding their effects on SAP.” Promoting diversity or business with the American administration – both at the same time, both should hardly be possible in the future. Oliver Blume (Volkswagen) dpaauch for Germany’s car company is an important market. Volkswagen has already attracted criticism of conservative politicians, who described the group as “Woke”, especially in the American southern states because of the strong participation of the union in Europe. VW now says that as an employer, you are constantly committed to equal opportunities. The American subsidiary, Volkswagen Group of America, continues to act in accordance with its own non -discrimination directive. It recruits, school and promotes people regardless of their age, breed, skin color, religion, gender and other characteristics or orientations. It is also referred to the fact that the new decrees from Washington have so far been based primarily against companies that accept the orders from public bodies. So far, the car manufacturer from Wolfsburg, managed by CEO Oliver Blume, has only been affected by this. Oliver Zipse (BMW) DPAAuch competitor BMW observes the situation in the United States and constantly checks the company guidelines and programs for their agreement with US law. However, the car manufacturer wants to continue its activities for sustainability issues (ESG) as planned. Also on these subject areas, BMW does not focus on short-term trends, but pursue a clear plan of measure and center and implement concrete measures such as the joint leadership program, equal pay or very flexible and precisely fitting working time models. The rival Mercedes-Benz sounds less determined. On the one hand, Mercedes-Benz North America has always been “equal opportunities and condemns any kind of discrimination”. On the other hand, the answer says, one also sticks to the relevant laws and will continue to do so in the future, nervosity is noticeable among some management consultants. Many in the industry have loudly campaigned for DEI programs in the past, and some are now afraid of the loss of state orders in America. In Germany, companies also struggle to make the right choice of words. Terms such as “Dei” and especially the word “equity” like to disappear from the official language. Christina Raab (Accenture) Acccenter Weltest Consulting Group Accenture was the first to distance from his previous DEI programs. Global Acccenture boss Julie Sweet wrote in a memo to all 800,000 employees around the world in a memo in early February, and Accenture will hire “career development programs for people from certain demographic groups”. Acccentures Germany boss Christina Raab followed on the LinkedIn platform that Accenture will make changes to the programs, “to” ensure that we can effectively advance our agenda “. However, one will unchanged for an “inclusive, diverse and fair workplace”. According to the “Economist”, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture and Deloitte are among the consulting companies that receive a particularly large number of public orders in America. Deloitte also indicated that he wanted to give up his diversity policy worldwide, but then said partners in Great Britain and Australia that they would not make local changes. The German Deloitte spokesman emphasizes that all member companies in the global Deloitte network are legally independent: “In Germany we continue our DEI program unchanged.” At the consulting company BCG, the sum of US authority orders has been lower. BCG has so far only slightly changed the choice of words in Germany-especially terms such as “Dei” and “Equity” are the focus of the polarized debate. “We have always understood ‘equity’ as an equal opportunities-this means that everyone has the opportunity to be successful here-, regardless of individual backgrounds or characteristics,” explains BCG Germany boss Michael Brigl. “Critics, on the other hand, often interpret the term as a equality of results – i.e. equality in the results, regardless of performance, based solely on group affiliation. This does not correspond to our understanding.” In order to “not create space for misunderstandings”, BCG “sharpened” its choice of words in some places. Björn Gulden (Adidas) Hannah Hlavacekdor sporting goods manufacturer Adidas, according to a spokesman, has currently maintained the abbreviation Dei both in the annual report from March and on his website. In addition, Adidas indicates the aim of a balanced representation of women in management positions. However, as well as in all other markets, the company must adhere to applicable laws in the United States and therefore cannot rule out that certain formulations will be adjusted accordingly in the future if the legislation changes. Nevertheless, Adidas wants to work unchanged for the establishment of a fair, respectful and integrative corporate culture for all employees. Like the steel manufacturer Thyssenkupp: “The latest political developments in the USA illustrate the challenges of a changing regulatory environment.” Basically, it is important that the company’s economic relationships and the United States go back more than 185 years. And how a hope for the future sounds this wording: “We are convinced that transatlantic cooperation, an open dialogue and long -term economic relationships between Germany and the USA have existed beyond individual terms.” Whether Trump can be appeased by reorganization? If things get tough, companies could be forced to throw their values overboard in order to be able to stay on the ball in the USA – which could lead to further conflict, since in Germany legal requirements for the proportion of women in management positions apply in contrast to the new course in Washington. In this country, not only is a minimum participation of women in corporate board members, large stock corporations in Germany also have to set target variables for the proportion of women in the two management levels below the board. Although the target size is zero here, it is subject to justification. A spokesman for Siemens Energy sums up the tricky tension: “If the laws change in a country, we analyze this carefully and check how we can implement the changes in practice without questioning our fundamental values.” This analysis is still running for the USA. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller (Trumpf) Verena Müllerin of such a tension area should also be the consumer goods manufacturer Beiersdorf, for which diversity belongs to the corporate culture. On the other hand, the company pursues ambitious goals on the US market. According to a spokeswoman, Beiersdorf achieved a balanced gender ratio of 50 to 50 in all global management positions in the Consumer division. This balance could be kept in 2024. For 2026, Beiersdorf also wants to achieve a more balanced gender ratio for positions below the board level and report on the progress. Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller, the woman at the head of the Swabian technology specialist, is considered a critic of sharp quotas. On request, it is said that diversity remains important in order to be able to win more women for production in the United States. However, corresponding programs would be open to all employees. “So we do not affect anyone because of his belonging to a certain group, even in the recruiting process it doesn’t matter.” The term “dei” is not even used in communication. Autors worked nadine Bös, Mark Fehr, Bernd Freytag, Markus Frühauf, Tillmann Neuscheler, Christian Müßgens, Henning Peitsmeier, Susanne Preuß, Benjamin Wagener.
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