Germany: interest in diversity is declining, and not just because of Donald Trump’s anti-DEI policy

Following the executive order signed by the US President in January, which bans diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programmes from any company with access to US public contracts, the German power plant manufacturing specialist Siemens Energy announced at the end of June that it was abolishing all quotas for women in its US subsidiary (12,000 employees). The group’s HR director Christina Schulte-Kutsch told the newspaper Die Welt that the subject was “emotionally difficult” but said the company “must comply with the law”. This explains these “minimal adaptations” for the American market. These concern minimum quotas for women in management as well as specific programmes for promoting women. Bonuses paid to management in relation to progress towards these targets have also been abolished.…