McDonald’s said on Friday that he changes – but not eliminating – a scholarship program for Latin students after being prosecuted by a group that opposes a positive action.
McDonald’s Hacer National Scholarship Program, which was founded in 1985, rewards students’ scholarships with at least one Latin parent. The program has granted more than $ 33 million on the scholarships to more than 17,000 students.
On January 12, the American Alliance for Equal Rights continued McDonald’s on the Hacer program. The alliance, which challenge that the use of race or ethnicity as a factor of their decisions, is led by Edward Blum, the conservative activist who also successfully approved Positive action programs in university admissions.
Friday, McDonald’s said that he had concluded a regulation with the American Alliance for equal rights which will allow him to consider the candidates of this year. The Chicago company said that more than 3,000 students had already applied for this year’s scholarships.
McDonald’s said that the program will now be open to any student who can demonstrate an impact on or a commitment to the Latin American community. Applicants no longer need to have at least one Latin parent.
McDonald’s said that it would extend the deadline for the scholarships this year from February 6 to March 6 to accommodate all new candidates.
Blum applauded the settlement on Friday.
“McDonald’s judiciously agreed to end this discriminatory scholarship program,” said Blum. “It is a pity that for many years, thousands of students have been excluded from this program because they were not the favorite ethnicity.”
McDonald’s is one of the many companies that have has interrupted certain diversity efforts In the wake of the decision of the United States Supreme Court in 2023 which prohibited the race as a factor in university admissions.
Earlier in January, McDonald’s said he would take care of specific objectives to achieve diversity at high management levels. He also ended a program that encouraged his suppliers to develop diversity training and increase the number of members of the minority group represented in their own leadership ranks.
But in An open letter For employees and franchisees, the McDonald’s management team said it was attached to inclusion and considers that a diversified workforce is a competitive advantage.
McDonald’s said that he would continue to support efforts that guarantee a diverse base of employees, suppliers and franchisees, but his diversity team will now be called the global inclusion team. The company said that it would also continue to report its demographic information.