British pharmaceutical company GSK has suspended its diversity efforts, citing compliance with Donald Trump’s executive orders that prohibited companies from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Although GSK is a British company and is listed on the London Stock Exchange, the company argued that the United States is its biggest market and the primary customer, which is why the step had to be taken.
This is after a number of American companies including Goldman Sachs, McDonald’s, Amazon, and Meta paused their DEI efforts. BlackRock has also followed suit and has dropped its workforce diversity targets, but this is unlike GSK’s British counterpart AstraZeneca which still implements DEI policies even if it has a large US presence.
Some of the policies that have been affected by the change in policy include; GSK has taken down the word ‘diversity’ from its website and replaced it with ‘inclusion.’ Some initiatives including the mentoring programs for women and a UK social mobility program that helps students from low income background have been suspended, while charitable activities that are related to diversity are under assessment.
GSK’s decision was explained by a spokesperson as the company’s commitment to creating an inclusive workplace while also fulfilling its legal responsibilities to ensure compliance with the laws of all the countries it operates in. The spokesperson pointed out that the pause is not a set in stone and may not necessarily mean the end of diversity efforts.
This has angered GSK’s UK employees and has attracted the ire of industry executives. Catherine Howarth, the CEO of ShareAction, called it a ‘short-sighted approach’ that could prevent the best talents from joining the company and also alienate investors. At the same time, legal practitioners note that UK employers are not directly subject to the US executive orders, but Trump’s policy may impact corporate practices around the world.
Despite the opposition, GSK explained that the assessment is consistent with legal requirements and is designed to address issues of equity and harmony in the workplace in the current legal environment.
