Ziff Davis, the $2 billion media conglomerate that owns dozens of sites including PCMag, Lifehacker, IGN and CNET, is quietly taking diversity, equity, and inclusion information off of its website, 404 Media has learned.
In the past month, the company removed information about diversity-focused employee resource groups, inclusion-based hiring goals, and diversity training for its workers and managers from its corporate website.
The changes were first spotted by a Ziff Davis employee. 404 Media granted the employee anonymity to speak candidly.
An archived version of Ziff Davis’s DEI webpage saved on January 19 states, “Ziff Davis is proud to offer Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), voluntary employee-led groups mentored by executive sponsors and overseen by our Global DEI and HR Programs team. They represent seven identity groups: Asian, Black, 2SLGBTQIA+, Latinx/Hispanic, family of all kinds, women and gender minorities, and interfaith.”
On the same page at time of writing, and as early as February 12, the description of employee resource groups had been changed to remove specific mentions of those groups. It now says, “All employees are welcome to create or join Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are voluntary employee-led groups mentored by executive sponsors.”
“Internal HR reps assure us all is well, that DEI programs and employee resource groups will remain unchanged,” the employee told 404 Media. But they’re still concerned about the changes to the website. “The internal reassurances, public silence, and website changes leaves me feeling gaslighted about our company’s commitment to DEI.”
Other sections have been removed from the website entirely. On the archived version of the page from January, the company stated that it gave senior leadership bonuses depending on how well they met its diversity goals.
“In 2023, we activated 100% of the $1 million committed to hiring POC freelancers by year-end,” the January webpage said. Another “ongoing action” listed included “adding non-financial DEI targets, based on internal talent goals, to the annual compensation plans of executives with substantial hiring oversight. The bonus plans of certain senior executives include a hiring, retention, and leadership component based on the achievement of Ziff Davis’ diversity and inclusion objectives.”
On the current version of the page, this paragraph is completely gone.
A short section of the page dedicated to employee training has also lost any mention of “Diversity and Inclusion” training since January.
On another page detailing its “Five Pillars of Purpose,” Ziff Davis lists “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” as one of these pillars. An archived version of this page from January describes this pillar as the company’s intent to “reinforce our diverse workforce, reflect our diverse audiences, and expand upon our inclusive culture.”
According to the current description, the company must “ensure we avail ourselves of the best talent in the marketplace, to hire top employees and address the needs of a large and diverse customer base.”
Ziff Davis has also made changes to its “Community” page, which talks about volunteering and donations to non-profit organizations. Since January, the company has fully removed paragraphs about its partnership with the Black Game Developer Fund, as well as its “pro bono ad campaigns for NAACP and Sandy Hook Promise.” (Sandy Hook Promise is still mentioned as one of the recipients for “approximately $1.3 million in ad space via our Employee Resource Groups.”)
The company has also removed mention of the $10 million it has deposited in Black-owned banks, “to help the institutions originate loans that foster economic opportunity within underserved Black communities,” according to the archived version of the page.
The current community page also no longer lists Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah as a part of CEOs for Gun Safety, which the archived page describes as “a coalition of CEOs who believe gun violence in the U.S. is not inevitable and are urging elected officials to help prevent it.” CEOs for Gun Safety’s list of signatories still lists Shah as of February.
Internal messages in a company-wide group chat about diversity obtained by 404 Media, however, show the company claiming no change to its commitment to DEI.
One message, for example, encouraged employees to “Celebrate Black History Month with [employee resource group] Black@ZD,” and invited them to “a series of enriching events that celebrate our achievements, honor our history, and strengthen our community at Ziff Davis, as we explore this year’s theme of ‘African Americans and Labor.’”
Another message from a member of the company’s DEI council said, “DEI isn’t just a statement at ZD, it’s part of who we are and how we operate…the impact of our work speaks louder than any headline or inclusion on a list could. In my humble opinion, I don’t believe that we need to shout it from the rooftops because our actions consistently reflect our values.”
Multiple employees in the group chat asked whether Ziff Davis’s approach to DEI was changing based on President Trump’s executive orders about it. On Wednesday morning, the company’s CEO Vivek Shah posted a video about DEI and environmental sustainability to a company Facebook group.
“Our commitment to both is not changing,” Shah says in the video, which 404 Media viewed. “Simply put, DEI at Ziff Davis helps us drive the best possible business outcomes…We must ensure that everyone understands what DEI and ESG [environmental, social, and governance] mean at our company. I’ve asked our teams to ensure that we’re clear in our language.”
Ziff Davis did not respond to 404 Media’s request for comment.
In the last year—and increasingly since Trump’s election and executive order demanding federal agencies scrub their websites of mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion—multiple organizations and companies including Meta, Target, Google, and the Smithsonian Institution have rolled back or ended their diversity targets and programs. The Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and Food and Drug Administration all removed webpages and data related to adolescent health and HIV. Some of those pages are now back online after a judge ordered that they return to their previous state—but now, a note at the top of the pages says, “Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate, and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.”
“It’s scary enough when a Walmart or Hobby Lobby caters to the right, but when a massive media company starts complying in advance with Orwellian Newspeak the potential ripple effects feel extra scary,” the employee who spoke to 404 Media said.
