Meta joins companies like Walmart, Lowe’s and Ford, which have already announced they would scale back their commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

A memo from Meta says DEI has become ‘charged’ because such practices are seen as delivering ‘preferential treatment of some groups over others.’

The end of the company's DEI efforts means that it will no longer use a "diverse slate approach," which it began implementing in 2015. According to a 2017 blog post on Meta's website about the strategy, it "sets the expectation that hiring managers will consider candidates from underrepresented backgrounds when interviewing for an open position."