BlackRock unwinds diversity, climate programs, heeding conservative calls – Washington Examiner
BlackRock, the investment giant, is retracting its diversity and climate initiatives in response to increasing pressure from conservative groups. The company has recently exited a United Nations-backed sustainable investing coalition, adjusted its proxy-voting guidelines concerning board diversity, and disbanded its internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) team. This shift follows a growing trend among corporations to abandon DEI practices amid rising political scrutiny.
BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, attributed the changes to evolving U.S.legal and policy environments regarding DEI.Prominent figures, such as Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform, view these decisions as positive progress. The firm has also faced scrutiny from multiple attorneys general, who expressed concerns that businesses like BlackRock may have prioritized political agendas over shareholder value. this includes a legal dispute with Tennessee regarding the transparency of its environmental,social,and governance (ESG) strategies.
the article illustrates a broader national retreat from diversity-focused policies in both corporate and governmental spheres, notably prompted by shifts in political leadership and public opinion against such initiatives.
BlackRock unwinds diversity, climate programs, heeding conservative calls
(The Center Square) – Investment giant BlackRock is unwinding its diversity and climate programs amid a broader retreat from such programs across the country in response to calls from Republicans.
The New York-based global investment company recently bought the ports on either side of the Panama Canal in a $22.8 billion deal that garnered praise from President Donald Trump in his joint address to Congress. That’s a big win for a company that has been in the crosshairs of conservatives for years.
In recent months, BlackRock pulled out of a UN-backed sustainable investing coalition, relaxed its language around board diversity requirements in proxy-voting guidelines, removed DEI language from its annual report and other company communications and eliminated its internal DEI team and canceled any diversity hiring requirements.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink noted in a memo to employees last month that “significant changes to the U.S. legal and policy environment related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) that apply to many companies, including BlackRock.”
Grover Norquist, a longtime Republican thought leader and president of Americans for Tax Reform, called BlackRock’s reversal on DEI and ESG programs “progress.”
The changes come as government officials pressure private companies to end the DEI practices. Ten attorneys general recently sent a letter to Bank of America, BlackRock, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley and asked for an accounting of their DEI practices.
“There is, however, mounting concern that political objectives have, in some cases, influenced your decision-making at the expense of your statutory and contractual obligations,” said the letter, which was signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia. “Specifically, you appear to have embraced race- and sex-based quotas and to have made business and investment decisions based not on maximizing shareholder and asset value, but in the furtherance of political agendas.”
In January, BlackRock settled a dispute with the state of Tennessee over its ESG practices, which the state said misled consumers. Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a consumer protection lawsuit against the investment firm in December 2023. The state accused BlackRock of failing to tell investors how much environmental, social, and governance considerations had been incorporated into its investment strategies. The alleged misrepresentation “deprived consumers of the ability to make an informed choice,” Skrmetti said.
ESG is an acronym used in conjunction with environmental, social and governance policies in investments.
“BlackRock has consistently acted in the best interests of our clients, and we welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that fact through even greater transparency about our practices,” BlackRock said in an email to The Center Square at the time.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., said the company’s settlement marked a change.
“Glad to see @Blackrock turning the page and that Tennessee is helping lead the way against ESG,” she wrote on X. “Woke doesn’t work.”
Across governments and corporate boardrooms, diversity, equity and inclusion policies are retreating nationwide. Trump immediately upon taking office began eliminating such positions within the federal government by ending programs and removing DEI staff.
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