Thomson Reuters drops ‘diversity' for ‘inclusion' as Trump pressures press
The corporation is the parent company of Reuters international news agency and also offers tech services for the federal government as a contractor.
'To ensure ongoing compliance, we are clarifying some of our talent practices and language. This includes renaming 'diversity and inclusion' to 'inclusion and belonging' and building detailed guidance to inform how we articulate and implement programs and practices,' the company wrote in a Tuesday email to employees obtained by The New York Times media reporter Benjamin Mullin.
Trump's two orders entitled 'Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing' and 'Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity' abolished previous executive orders that outlined policies for equal employment opportunities for the federal workforce, federal contractors and grant recipients.
'It is the policy of the United States to protect the civil rights of all Americans and to promote individual initiative, excellence, and hard work. I therefore order all executive departments and agencies to terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs, activities, guidance, regulations, enforcement actions, consent orders, and requirements,' Trump wrote in the first executive order.
'I further order all agencies to enforce our longstanding civil-rights laws and to combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities,' he added.
Since the president signed both January orders, dozens of companies have dropped DEI practices, which Trump described as an 'illegal' violation of 'civil-rights laws.'
Last week, Gannett, America's largest newspaper chain, removed the word 'diversity' from its corporate site and said it would no longer publish demographic data regarding its workforce.
In February, Paramount and Disney began removing language related to DEI, following in the footsteps of tech giants Google, Amazon and Meta.
On Wednesday, Thomson Reuters moved in a similar direction.
'As a U.S. federal government contractor, it is especially important that Thomson Reuters continues to comply with any applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as rules, regulations, and EOS,' the email from Thomson Reuters said.
'Over the past couple of months, a cross-functional team has assessed TR's talent, business, and commercial practices relative to the EO from the U.S. federal government,' the correspondence read.
Thomson Reuters said they would continue to provide mentorship, coaching and development opportunities that foster 'greater understanding of each other globally' while attracting employees from a broad talent pool.
A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hill's request for comment.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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