In a notable development driven by the firm stance of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, telecommunications giant AT&T officially notified the FCC on Monday, December 1st, that it will completely abolish its so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) policies.
According to reports from the New York Post, AT&T, headquartered in Dallas and employing over 110,000 staff in the United States, explicitly stated in their letter to FCC Chairman Carr that the company has adjusted its hiring and business practices to ensure the unequivocal termination of all DEI-related policies, not just in theory but in practice.
AT&T’s Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, David McAtee, committed in the letter that the company will no longer implement any recruitment or supplier contract quotas based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Additionally, all DEI training programs will be completely removed, and positions specifically dedicated to DEI will be abolished.
Previously, internal training materials from AT&T were disclosed and sparked strong criticism from the public. Christopher Rufo revealed in 2021, based on leaked documents, that the company encouraged white employees to engage with critical race theory content during training and explicitly told them, “You are the problem.”
Christopher Rufo is well-known as an American conservative activist, political commentator, and documentary filmmaker, famous for exposing and criticizing “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) and DEI policies in the education sector and corporations.
However, AT&T stated that they will continue to maintain employee affinity groups that have existed for over 50 years, such as Women of AT&T and The NETwork, Black Integrated Communications Professionals, but without restricting employee participation based on characteristics such as race.
AT&T’s move aligns with a recent trend in the U.S. business sector. Previously, FCC Chairman Carr made it clear that companies cannot obtain critical FCC approvals while retaining discriminatory policies based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.
According to a report from Breitbart News in May, another major U.S. telecommunications operator, Verizon, took the lead by announcing the termination of all DEI policies, dismantling the dedicated DEI team, and transitioning related personnel to general HR roles. Carr praised this step as a positive move towards equal opportunities, non-discrimination, and the public interest.
Analysts predict that following the link between FCC approvals and companies abandoning DEI policies, more major U.S. enterprises are expected to follow suit, adjusting their policies to ensure they obtain or renew critical regulatory approvals.
The telecommunications giant is currently seeking approval to purchase wireless spectrum licenses from US Cellular for $10.2 billion. Following the announcement of the cancellation of DEI policies, the FCC approved this application on December 4th.