McDonald’s compiles comprehensive inclusion materials as DEI overhaul sparks scrutiny

McDonald’s has compiled a package of inclusion materials and a company letter titled "Our Commitment to Inclusion at McDonald’s" after an 18-month Civil Rights Audit conducted by WilmerHale, the audit’s findings and recommendations feeding into the document and the company’s revised language. CEO Chris Kempczinski wrote to franchise owners, operators, employees and suppliers worldwide that, “We are immensely proud of our accomplishments, but we are not satisfied. Our commitment to inclusion requires ongoing focus.”

WilmerHale’s review took 18 months to complete and, per company communications, identified “many positive accomplishments and also recommended a number of improvements which resulted in” the inclusion letter. McDonald’s materials tie that work to concrete governance steps, saying the audit’s recommendations informed plans to ensure inclusion priorities “drive the business in the 2025 planning cycle.”

Corporate excerpts list a set of self-reported achievements: “improving leadership diversity,” “achieving gender pay equity at all levels,” “meeting our US systemwide supplier diversity aspirational spend goal,” and “recruiting the largest Registered Applicant pipeline.” The company also states it will continue “yearly reporting on supplier spend transparency as part of Purpose & Impact report,” though the supplied excerpts do not include numeric spend figures or the methodology behind the pay-equity claim.

The inclusion materials further name specific program elements aimed at suppliers and operators. Corporate text says the company will “increase access to opportunity for suppliers of all backgrounds in our supply chain,” maintain “Our Global Business Diversity Team” to work with suppliers and stakeholders, and “continue integrated discussions with suppliers about their inclusion efforts as part of business reviews.” The documents also commit to “commitment to diverse and inclusive marketing spend” and to “continue sharing best practices, collaborating with suppliers, and connecting with industry organizations to advance inclusive sourcing practices.”

On the franchisee and employee side, the materials cite “efforts to increase access to opportunity and recruitment of franchisees of all backgrounds,” “support of Operator Affinity Groups,” and continued backing for Employee Business Networks. The corporate text notes “Supporting Employee Business Networks, ensuring priorities drive the business in the 2025 planning cycle. Our volunteer-led EBNs continue to welcome everyone, including allies,” and says the company is “holding the CEO and Executive Officers accountable for efforts that drive employee engagement and our values, including the value of Inclusion.”

The shift in language has drawn outside attention and pushback. The company has revised its diversity, equity and inclusion program to emphasize inclusion over the words diversity and equity. Anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck posted on X, “3 days ago I told McDonald’s that I’d be doing a story on woke policies there,” and has been described in outside coverage as “the man that ‘big companies fear most.’” The inclusion materials arrive amid other corporate pressures noted in company briefings, including a reported October health and safety incident when some customers became sick after eating Quarter Pounder sandwiches.

Gaps remain in the materials provided: the supplied corporate excerpts are truncated in places and do not contain dates for the CEO letter or the WilmerHale report, nor do they include supplier spend totals, the target that defined the US aspirational spend goal, or the data and methodology underlying the gender pay equity claim. Journalists and franchise stakeholders seeking verification will need the full WilmerHale audit, the complete CEO letter, and the latest Purpose & Impact report to confirm the company’s numerical claims and timelines.