The Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML announced on Wednesday (July 9) that it has canceled its “Diversity & Inclusion” (D&I) goals for U.S. employees to comply with current U.S. regulations. These goals included increasing the proportion of female executives to 14% by 2026 and having women account for 24% of new hires and promotions by 2025.
This move by ASML, as reported by Reuters, shows that the company has joined the ranks of European businesses adjusting their policies in response to pressure from the Trump administration. In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order expressly prohibiting federal contractors and their supply chains from establishing any form of “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion” (DEI) goals. He criticized such initiatives as being discriminatory in nature and going against the principles of fairness and merit-based recruitment.
ASML is the world’s largest computer chip equipment manufacturer. The company stated that if its “Diversity & Inclusion” policy were to conflict with U.S. laws and regulations, the relevant performance targets would not apply to U.S. employees but would continue to apply in other markets.
Since February, several European companies have chosen to lower or cancel their DEI policy goals in the United States to avoid potential penalties or litigation risks.
The UK pharmaceutical company GSK has announced a suspension of its “diversity” goals in the U.S. to comply with regulatory requirements. Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has canceled its executive gender ratio targets in the U.S. market but continues to progress in other regions globally. Swiss multinational pharmaceutical companies Roche and Novartis have respectively terminated their global diversity goals or no longer use diverse interview panels in U.S. recruitment, and Swiss bank UBS has canceled its annual gender and minority recruitment targets.
According to ASML’s annual report, the company’s U.S. workforce totals approximately 8,480 people, accounting for about 19% of its global workforce. The company emphasizes “hiring the most qualified candidates” to navigate potential legal conflicts in the U.S.
Furthermore, in recent times, many U.S. companies, including Accenture, Google, Meta, Walmart, and others, have also been downplaying DEI indicators or diversity requirements in their compensation schemes.