Donald Trump: SAP eliminates women's quota

Now SAP is also complying with Donald Trump . Since taking office, the US president has waged a campaign against diversity programs in companies , prompting many large corporations such as Meta, Boeing, and Amazon to discontinue their efforts. Under pressure from the US government, the Walldorf-based software company has now also eliminated some aspects of its diversity policy.

SAP will therefore no longer pursue its self-imposed goal of achieving a 40 percent female workforce. Currently, a good 36 percent of the company's workforce is female. The company's "women in leadership" metric, which it previously measured up to three levels below the Executive Board, will now only consider two levels – as required by law in Germany. The US will no longer be included in the quota for female managers.

Additionally, SAP will no longer consider gender diversity as an evaluation criterion for its Executive Board compensation. The "Women in Senior Leadership" performance criterion will be replaced with a more general "Business Health Culture Index," which is designed to measure how leaders support engagement that promotes health and equal opportunity.

"We are adjusting demographic targets to comply with regulatory requirements," SAP's Executive Board, led by CEO Christian Klein, wrote in an internal email at the end of last week. The company must adjust certain activities in the area of ​​diversity and inclusion. "Equal opportunities and an inclusive culture remain central goals of SAP - corresponding programs are ongoing," a company statement read. However, as a global company with a strong presence in the US, SAP must respond to current legal developments.

As part of the adjustment, the software manufacturer is also changing its organizational structure. It is merging its Diversity and Inclusion Office with the Corporate Social Responsibility department to form a new team called "Social Responsibility, Inclusion and Communities" that will be located within the People & Culture division of the Executive Board.

SAP is now Europe's most valuable company. How did the software giant become so large? And what are the reasons for its current boom?

Diversity programs are intended to promote disadvantaged groups. For a long time, companies also agreed that concrete measures to increase equal opportunities were needed. Most corporations viewed diversity, inclusion, and gender equality as fundamental principles of their human resources policies.

Until Trump was re-elected and began his fight against diversity programs. In his executive order of January 21, the US President declared that criteria related to gender or ethnic origin should no longer be considered in hiring decisions. Instead, individual performance, qualifications, and suitability should be the priority. Trump sees the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures as a departure from the principle of equal treatment.

Many US corporations subsequently complied. Meta disbanded its entire DEI team in January and ended programs aimed at promoting diversity in hiring and training. McDonald's abandoned its leadership diversity goals and eliminated programs to promote diversity among suppliers. Citigroup, Pepsi, Deloitte, Accenture, and many other companies took similar steps.

SAP is the first major German corporation to respond to pressure from the US government, and others could follow suit. While there are no indications of possible consequences for companies that maintain their diversity programs, SAP apparently fears lawsuits and a loss of business. The US is the software manufacturer's most important market. SAP relies on the goodwill of the Trump administration, in part because several government departments and the US Army use software programs from Walldorf. There are also corporations that oppose Trump. For example, Apple shareholders recently voted to maintain its diversity measures. The ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry's is also sticking to its equality goals.