Germany’s SAP software giant to abandon diversity measures in the face of pressure from the Trump administration

https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2025/05/11/face-a-la-pression-de-l-administration-trump-le-geant-allemand-de-l-informatique-sap-abandonne-ses-objectifs-en-matiere-de-parite_6605145_3234.html

by lieding

29 comments

  1. > At a time when the US administration is threatening to prosecute companies that implement diversity and inclusion programs, the German group – which employs 17,000 people in the USA – is notably going to scrap its target of 40% women among all its employees.
    >
    > To comply with the demands of the Trump administration, German software giant SAP is to scrap several of its inclusion and diversity measures, a spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday May 11, [confirming a report in *Handelsblatt*](https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/softwarehersteller-reaktion-auf-trump-politik-sap-streicht-frauenquote/100127302.html).
    >
    > According to an internal e-mail consulted by the German business daily, the Group will be abandoning its target of 40% women among all employees. In addition, quotas for women in management positions will no longer be applied in the USA, where SAP employs 17,000 people, or 16% of its payroll, and generated almost a third of its sales in 2024.
    >
    > The company based in Walldorf, western Germany, will also no longer take gender diversity into account as a criterion for the remuneration of its management board, while its diversity and inclusion department will lose its autonomy and be merged with another. In a statement released on Friday, the DAX-listed group on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange “commits to creating an inclusive workplace” while “fully complying with the legal requirements in each country where [it] operates”.
    >
    > On his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump signed an executive order outlawing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs promoting equal opportunity. He is threatening to prosecute companies, both American and foreign, that continue to implement them.
    >
    > Since this announcement, SAP has become one of the first major German groups to openly backtrack on its inclusivity policy. In April, T-Mobile, the U.S. subsidiary of mobile operator Deutsche Telekom, also pledged to largely abandon its DEI measures.
    >
    > According to the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, several German companies have received letters from the US embassy on this subject. A similar letter was sent by the US embassy in Paris to several French companies operating in the USA, provoking an outcry.

  3. Company managers picking money over values and workers condition….the same old story

  4. Are they afraid that the IS gov’t organizations running SAP will change ERPs? 

  5. Oh, I guess SAP won’t be qualified for the EU realignment from US cloud services then. Anyway…

  6. What spineless cowards. I’m waiting for my current company to say the same, as the US make a non trivial proportion of the sales.

    This is actually a good way to check which companies were always just inclusivity washing themselves, forcing everyone into inane courses.

    As another commenter has said, if there’s one company that doesn’t have to be afraid to tell govts to fuck off it would be SAP. I mean…their product is one of the most hellish in existence, liked by no one. But it is impossible to leave, once you’re there.

  7. Excuse me, what the actual f…??? Some Nazi American president is gonna tell Europeans what should they do with their law? This is shameful.

  12. I’m definitely going to question my employer about this since we use SAP. Not that I expect them do anything about it, but because I want to know what kind of company I currently work for. They talk so much about supporting diversity. Is it just talk?

  13. If it’s that easy to walk back DEI initiatives, they never meant that shit in the first place. Smells like it was all just PR bullshit. Signed, Pissed-off SAP employee.

  15. Typical manager scum. They never cared about diversity to begin with. It was just trendy, but now profits are at risk.

  16. Can SAP also give up on being an absolute fucking nightmare to use while it’s at it?

  19. Not going to go down well with the German workers council, I predict

  20. Europe should apply equal pressure and not contract SAP if they abandon all DEI activities. What then?

    We must not be pushed around by MAGA in Germany!

  21. I wonder what management will say when the fines start rolling in from violating European and German employment laws

  22. Of all the problems SAP has this is one of their least to be honest.

  23. It’s odd from a shareholder perspective because it’s been empirically proven that diverse organisations over time perform better.

  24. Good. But I still wouldn’t wanna code in ABAP I think.

  25. I am appalled that their goal of 40% female employees counts as “diversity”. WTF. Women are about 50% of this planets inhabitants. If your company has so few female employees that getting to 40% was a goal…

    Most interesting part is that they are also no longer enforce equal pay for their board members, aka women will make extremely less than men again. Extra interesting, because their headquarters and the board are in Germany and not in the US. They use thi opportunity as money grift for the guys without any need.

    Assholes.

  26. Ah, the Europeans! Love to brag about their “values”, but abandon them in a heartbeat if needed!

  28. Tbf, they have 17.000 employees in the US. Bowing to the Nazi demands is probably the safest way right now to protect *their* jobs.

    Still, it’s a fucking shame that this level of pettiness from the administration even exists, let alone gets attention from anyone. Americans, please remove the orange turd from office already, it’s long overdue.

  29. Germans should bristle at such demands. Why is everyone bending over for fascism (again)?

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