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Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Paramount halting diversity efforts
NewscastStudio: Paramount Global will scrap its diversity, equity and inclusion policies under pressure from Donald Trump, the legal system and federal mandates, according to a memo obtained by CNBC.
I think that it is important that Paramount released a statement emphasizing and recognizing the importance of having equity and diversity values, but its total bs that they are still halting them. Its clearly and obviously because they are money hungry and want to continue getting money from the government which on one hand is understandable. But it's extremely hypocritical that they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. I'm not shocked that disney is halting their diversity efforts and i actually find it kind of surprising that disney really had any diversity efforts to begin with because i've heard they are trump supporters. All of this just really shows how performative these companies have been. Back in 2020 they all made claims that they would be enacting DEIi training and prioritizing artists of the global majority, and now that their money is being threatened they are halting it.
It’s genuinely such a scary world we live in. For companies to just pull a full 180 on something that matter so much, especially since it’s the world of entertainment we’re talking about that is supposed to represent all? We’re surrounded by companies that practically run our nation and has shaped so much of our culture and how we choose to spend our lives. These same companies, who have put so much effort to assuring us that their means are good, are the same ones who didn’t put up a fight towards our current administration. I get that the situation is more complicated than that, but it really sucks to know that people who are supposed to have our back and represent the bigger community don’t. This time in our lives has proved to me that money speaks volumes. Volumes that most other things can’t. Truly a sad world to live in right now.
This just sucks, it is a complete 180 turn from what they have claimed to be their values and what they are practicing. It is disgusting that so many of these companies that have been pushing for diversity have folded under the political pressure. I understand that it’s a sink or swim environment, but it just feels like they are abandoning those who lack support to gain favor with the government. By pulling back these diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, it is sending a message that says “We were only diverse to go along with societal trends” and that makes me incredibly disappointed in these companies. On a separate note, the Trump vs. CBS news issue is stupid to me. He is the president, why is he worried about a video put out that could have effected the voting? It seems like Trump is going after the freedom of the press and that is a dangerous territory. The government controlling the media sounds a bit too close to being a dictatorship.
This reminds me of explaining something to my mom about pride month and companies engaging with pride month by turning their logos rainbow and whatever. Her argument was that back when she was younger, that could never happen because they would get a ton of backlash for supporting LGBTQ, so therefore, it's great that they are even able to do it now without losing money or sales. I agree with that to a certain extent, yes it's nice that the companies are able to do it BECAUSE it indicates a shifting social atmosphere regarding LGBT people. However, it doesn't indicate anything positive about the companies themselves, which is what my mom thought. I argued that the companies only change their logos and comment about Pride month in western countries where it is profitable to support the LGBT community, and do not change it in places like Russia where they would absolutely lose sales if they supported Pride. They are very two-faced, just like all these companies revoking DEI because they want to continue receiving government funding. If they truly believed in supporting the LGBT community and all of the other groups of people affected by DEI, then they would take a bit of a loss and suck it up, like Audra said. It;s ridiculous they are trying to cater to both sides by saying their hands are tied. No, they're not, just don't takte Trump's money.
It is so exhausting and disheartening seeing so much of the effort put towards social progress the last couple years seem to unravel almost overnight since the current administration took over. I shouldn't be surprised- I really shouldn't. Corporations like these have never had any vested interest in doing better for society and improving employment access and accessibility to marginalized groups- their only concern has been to make money. But still, to see them roll over SO quickly the moment a new political presence seems to indicate that equity may become "more trouble than its worth" (that is, from their perspective, the benefits of maintaining DEI policies to stay relevant to greater society no longer outweigh the labor put into maintaining those policies) leaves me incredibly disheartened. There is something deeply wrong with how our country functions when gigantic monopolies that have extensive impact on our culture prioritize the support of a morally corrupt government in order to grow their monetary assets over simply doing what is right and helping build up our country by ensuring everyone is allowed equal opportunities despite institutionalized disadvantages and discrimination.
I honestly don’t know if I was confused or misunderstood the unit in high school history class about capitalism, but I thought that businesses were supposed to be separate from the government. To see how these huge, rich companies can just fully switch their “practices” and “values” based on government pressure seems a little crazy. I also do not really understand Paramount‘s statement, since it states that it will not be using “aspirational goals related to the race, ethnicity sex, or gender in hiring” but also states that “values like inclusivity…are a part of the Paramount culture and will continue to be.” It sounds like here they are just trying to appease both sides. This, however, is quite literally impossible to do as these two statements contradict each other. I wonder what Paramount will actually do with this statement in relation to their practices, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw them out altogether. Mostly what I take away from this article is how scary and crazy it is that every four years our country can look like a completely different place.
6 comments:
I think that it is important that Paramount released a statement emphasizing and recognizing the importance of having equity and diversity values, but its total bs that they are still halting them. Its clearly and obviously because they are money hungry and want to continue getting money from the government which on one hand is understandable. But it's extremely hypocritical that they are trying to have their cake and eat it too. I'm not shocked that disney is halting their diversity efforts and i actually find it kind of surprising that disney really had any diversity efforts to begin with because i've heard they are trump supporters. All of this just really shows how performative these companies have been. Back in 2020 they all made claims that they would be enacting DEIi training and prioritizing artists of the global majority, and now that their money is being threatened they are halting it.
It’s genuinely such a scary world we live in. For companies to just pull a full 180 on something that matter so much, especially since it’s the world of entertainment we’re talking about that is supposed to represent all? We’re surrounded by companies that practically run our nation and has shaped so much of our culture and how we choose to spend our lives. These same companies, who have put so much effort to assuring us that their means are good, are the same ones who didn’t put up a fight towards our current administration. I get that the situation is more complicated than that, but it really sucks to know that people who are supposed to have our back and represent the bigger community don’t. This time in our lives has proved to me that money speaks volumes. Volumes that most other things can’t. Truly a sad world to live in right now.
This just sucks, it is a complete 180 turn from what they have claimed to be their values and what they are practicing. It is disgusting that so many of these companies that have been pushing for diversity have folded under the political pressure. I understand that it’s a sink or swim environment, but it just feels like they are abandoning those who lack support to gain favor with the government. By pulling back these diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, it is sending a message that says “We were only diverse to go along with societal trends” and that makes me incredibly disappointed in these companies. On a separate note, the Trump vs. CBS news issue is stupid to me. He is the president, why is he worried about a video put out that could have effected the voting? It seems like Trump is going after the freedom of the press and that is a dangerous territory. The government controlling the media sounds a bit too close to being a dictatorship.
This reminds me of explaining something to my mom about pride month and companies engaging with pride month by turning their logos rainbow and whatever. Her argument was that back when she was younger, that could never happen because they would get a ton of backlash for supporting LGBTQ, so therefore, it's great that they are even able to do it now without losing money or sales. I agree with that to a certain extent, yes it's nice that the companies are able to do it BECAUSE it indicates a shifting social atmosphere regarding LGBT people. However, it doesn't indicate anything positive about the companies themselves, which is what my mom thought. I argued that the companies only change their logos and comment about Pride month in western countries where it is profitable to support the LGBT community, and do not change it in places like Russia where they would absolutely lose sales if they supported Pride. They are very two-faced, just like all these companies revoking DEI because they want to continue receiving government funding. If they truly believed in supporting the LGBT community and all of the other groups of people affected by DEI, then they would take a bit of a loss and suck it up, like Audra said. It;s ridiculous they are trying to cater to both sides by saying their hands are tied. No, they're not, just don't takte Trump's money.
It is so exhausting and disheartening seeing so much of the effort put towards social progress the last couple years seem to unravel almost overnight since the current administration took over. I shouldn't be surprised- I really shouldn't. Corporations like these have never had any vested interest in doing better for society and improving employment access and accessibility to marginalized groups- their only concern has been to make money. But still, to see them roll over SO quickly the moment a new political presence seems to indicate that equity may become "more trouble than its worth" (that is, from their perspective, the benefits of maintaining DEI policies to stay relevant to greater society no longer outweigh the labor put into maintaining those policies) leaves me incredibly disheartened. There is something deeply wrong with how our country functions when gigantic monopolies that have extensive impact on our culture prioritize the support of a morally corrupt government in order to grow their monetary assets over simply doing what is right and helping build up our country by ensuring everyone is allowed equal opportunities despite institutionalized disadvantages and discrimination.
I honestly don’t know if I was confused or misunderstood the unit in high school history class about capitalism, but I thought that businesses were supposed to be separate from the government. To see how these huge, rich companies can just fully switch their “practices” and “values” based on government pressure seems a little crazy. I also do not really understand Paramount‘s statement, since it states that it will not be using “aspirational goals related to the race, ethnicity sex, or gender in hiring” but also states that “values like inclusivity…are a part of the Paramount culture and will continue to be.” It sounds like here they are just trying to appease both sides. This, however, is quite literally impossible to do as these two statements contradict each other. I wonder what Paramount will actually do with this statement in relation to their practices, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw them out altogether. Mostly what I take away from this article is how scary and crazy it is that every four years our country can look like a completely different place.
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