Paramount Rolls Back DEI Policies

Paramount, the corporate parent of Nickelodeon Animation Studios and Paramount Animation, is rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, a move that it attributes to political pressure from the Trump administration.

The policy change was announced to workers today in an internal memo sent by co-CEOs George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins. Paramount’s actions follow in the footsteps of numerous other major corporations, including The Walt Disney Company, which have been reducing or eliminating their DEI programs in anticipation of new federal mandates.

Paramount told workers that while it will “no longer set or use aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex or gender of hires,” that “values like inclusivity and collaboration are a part of the Paramount culture” and that its workforce will reflect “the perspectives and experiences of our many different audiences.”

The complete text of the memo can be read below:

Hi Everyone, 

To mark the close of 2024, we wanted to update you on certain policy changes we are making. As you may be aware, the current Administration’s Executive Order, a Supreme Court decision, and federal mandates require changes in the way the company approaches inclusion moving forward. As a result, some of our policies must change to comply with these new mandates, including:  

Staffing Goals: We will no longer set or use aspirational numerical goals related to the race, ethnicity, sex or gender of hires. We continue to welcome talent of all backgrounds.

Gender and Diversity Data: We have ended our policy of collecting race, ethnicity, sex or gender data for U.S. job applicants on our forms and careers page, except in those markets that legally require us to do so.

In addition, we have eliminated the “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” qualitative metric in our Short-Term Incentive Plan (STIP) for qualified participants. This metric directly connected 5% of funding for our STIP program to the company’s success in progress on companywide DEI initiatives, including aspirational representation goals. We now base 10% of STIP funding on our Workforce Culture and Development qualitative metric, which is focused on building a high-performing and inclusive culture, including through developing leadership and engaging our workforce.

With our business objectives firmly in mind, we will continue to evaluate our programs and approach to ensure that we are widening our aperture to attract talent from all geographies, backgrounds and perspectives. That may mean expanding existing programs while ending others. As our policies continue to evolve in the future, we will be sure to share those updates with you.

To be the best storytellers and to continue to drive success, we must have a highly talented, dedicated  and creative workforce that reflects  the perspectives and experiences of our many different audiences. Values like inclusivity and collaboration are a part of the Paramount culture and will continue to be.

Best,  
George, Chris and Brian

Paramount is still awaiting approval from the Federal Communications Commission to merge with Skydance Media. FCC chairman Brendan Carr has vocalized his dislike of DEI policies, and earlier this month sent a letter to another media conglomerate, Comcast-NBCUniversal, that said, “[I] want to ensure that your companies are not promoting invidious forms of discrimination in violation of FCC regulations and civil rights laws.”