PwC removes diversity requirement for Start interns

Since SCOTUS issued its decision banning race-based affirmative action in education, multiple lawsuits have been filed against companies because of their DE&I programs.

PwC, an accounting firm with 46,000 US employees, was one of the companies targeted by anti-DE&I activist group America First Legal in 2023 following the affirmative action decision. The group, led by Stephen Miller, said that PwC’s Start internship and scholarship programs, which only accepted applicants from underrepresented groups, could be illegal, the Financial Times reported.

Now, the professional services firm has changed who can apply for its Start internships.

What’s happening? PwC Chief People Officer Yolanda Seals-Coffield confirmed to HR Brew that the company is removing the diversity requirement from its Start internship program as a direct result of the SCOTUS decision. She said that the communications, human capital, diversity, and legal teams collaborated on the decision to make the change.

The Start intern program, which is open to college sophomores and juniors, was previously limited to applicants who identified as “members of traditionally underrepresented minority groups,” including based on race, veteran status, or disability identity.

“We removed the restrictions on who could apply for this internship,” Seals-Coffield said, but clarified that individuals from underrepresented groups are still encouraged to apply. She also noted that all applicants are expected to show a commitment to diversity, whether through their college or high school activities.

In 2023, the majority of Start interns identified as Latino/Hispanic (44%), Black (24%), or two or more races (15%), according to PwC’s 2023 impact report, which breaks down the cohort by various diversity metrics. Advance interns, who are either college seniors or graduates, identified as white (46%), Asian (21%), Latino/Hispanic (15%), and Black (9%).

While the underrepresented group requirement for Start interns has changed, the company’s commitment to diversity has not, according to Shannon Schuyler, PwC’s US chief purpose and inclusion officer. “We continue to talk about diversity internally, and we’ll continue to talk about it externally,” she said. “We believe that it’s connected to our purpose. It’s connected to our values and our people know that it’s something to look at across our portfolio of what we do within the firm, so absolutely not, it’s nothing that we are shying away from.”

Big picture. PwC isn’t on an island with this requirement change. Some companies, such as Pfizer and Comcast, took this step before the affirmative action decision, CNBC reported. Further, several fellowship programs at US law firms, including Morrison & Foerester and Perkins Coie, removed their underrepresented groups requirement from their fellowship programs after they were targeted by similar groups to America First, according to Bloomberg.

With intensifying political and legal debates surrounding DE&I, legal teams will likely be more involved in DE&I initiatives and language moving forward, HR Brew previously reported.