Google, Microsoft, and Meta have stopped publishing workforce diversity data

Some American technology The Giants are abandoning their decade-long practice of publishing statistics on the gender and racial makeup of their workforce. Google, which helped lead the way in releasing annual diversity, equity and inclusion reports, has no plans to disclose the information this year, according to four employees familiar with the discussions internally. Microsoft and Meta also will not publish diversity reports and data this year, spokespersons for both companies confirmed to WIRED.

The broad, previously unreported loss in transparency could obscure the impact of President Donald Trump’s anti-DEI policies on the tech workforce. It could also raise barriers for workers and civil rights groups seeking to reshape tech companies to better reflect the makeup of the countries in which they operate.

The decision of these three companies, which collectively employ hundreds of thousands of people globally, also stands in contrast to their industry counterparts. Apple, Amazon, and Nvidia all released new diversity data this year.

Google did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Disclosures over the past decade showed that Google and dozens of other technology companies were steadily hiring more women and racial minorities, even though these groups were still underrepresented in technical and management roles compared to their overall U.S. population. Some companies have also published additional data showing higher attrition rates for ethnic minorities and a lack of diversity in terms of disabled or LGBT employees.

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw said in a statement to WIRED that the company is not doing “a traditional report this year as we have evolved beyond that into more dynamic and accessible formats,” including “stories, videos, and insights that show inclusion in action.” He added, “The company’s mission and commitment to our culture and values ​​have not changed.”

Meta spokeswoman Tracy Clayton confirmed that the company will not publish a diversity report this year. He declined to go into details about the decision.

“Facts”

After pressure from civil rights activists including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his advocacy group the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Google released employee diversity data for the first time in 2014. Several other tech giants followed suit later that year.

Tech executives said they recognized the need to be more vocal about the underrepresentation of some demographic groups. “It’s hard to address these kinds of challenges if you’re not prepared to discuss them openly and with the facts,” Laszlo Bock, Google’s head of human operations, wrote at the time.

Google continued to issue 11 annual reports in the following years. This included data from 2013 through 2023, with the last report published in June 2024. Meta released data spanning 2014 through 2022. Microsoft’s last such update came in October 2024.