Melinda Gates says businesses ending DEI programs are 'affecting families'

Melinda Gates, the former wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and a Democratic megadonor, lamented the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in major companies during an interview published Tuesday.

Speaking to Katie Drummond of WIRED for "The Big Interview," the 61-year-old philanthropist was asked about the impact of major corporations scaling back DEI programs following President Donald Trump's re-election - and what she believes will come from that trend.

"What I do know to be true is they are affecting families," Gates said. "They are affecting people's opportunity to get the education they want. They are affecting people's ability to get the job that they want to get."

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She touted the progress companies had made with representation in the workforce prior to pulling back on the initiatives and argued that greater diversity improves product discussions.

Gates also expressed greater disappointment with the lack of diversity in politics.

"So to have a society where, when you walk the streets of Seattle or D.C. or pick your favorite place, Dallas, Texas, I see a lot of different diversity," Gates told WIRED. "Yet that diversity isn't fully reflected in our institutions. If it starts to not be as reflective, not as reflected in our education system or not reflected on the Hill. We're seeing the policies that are coming out of Congress, right?" 

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"It's why I believe we need far more women in our state houses, far more Hispanic people in our state houses, so that our state houses, that then grow to Congress, look like our populace," she added.

However, she acknowledged that some DEI initiatives "went too far," calling criticism to that regard "fair."

"I think a lot of these people that... are sitting at that table have different things that they want, and mostly what they want is for their business," Gates said. "So they either join in the popularity party, or they say, 'God, I never wanted to do that stuff in my company to begin with. It's nice I don't have to anymore.' So I think there are different motivations around that large table that we saw, but I think a lot of them are business-driven."

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In the months since Trump's re-election, several major companies - including McDonald's, Bank of America and Google - announced that they would be rolling back DEI initiatives despite previously pushing diversity in the workplace, amid the Trump administration's crackdown on such policies.

Microsoft, Bill Gates' original company, was among some corporations that doubled down on diversity programs in January.