Mattel, Maker of Pro-Diversity Barbie, Sheds DEI for Investors

Mattel, the toymaker behind the “Most Diverse Doll Line” and a blockbuster Barbie movie trumpeting diversity, is talking less about diversity, equity, and inclusion with investors as President Donald Trump attacks DEI.

The 2023 Barbie movie—which pokes fun at male Mattel Inc. executives headed by faux-CEO Will Ferrell—helped the company reinvent its brand and how its dolls are perceived by a new generation of consumers. But this year, the company removed references to its DEI efforts and didn’t include board diversity data in two recent investor filings.

Mattel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The California-based toy company is the latest among scores of businesses that have toned down how they talk about diversity following conservative attacks on corporate DEI practices that ratcheted up under the Trump administration.

The company’s proxy statement last year highlighted diversity, equity and inclusion as one of its priorities, laying out a strategy to “create positive impact through purposeful play and by supporting diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities.” That language did not appear in its 2025 proxy statement, which the company sent to shareholders on Thursday ahead of its annual meeting on May 28.

The toymaker also cut a table that showed the gender and demographic breakdown of its board members. The company in 2024 disclosed its board had five women, one of whom was African American or Black and another who was Hispanic or Latinx. It had included a board diversity chart since 2022, the first year Nasdaq required the disclosure.

A Nasdaq Pullback

Mattel is one of many companies that have scaled back or abandoned board diversity disclosures after a court in December tossed rules requiring the reporting from companies listed on Nasdaq Inc. stock exchanges.

“Mattel has once again been recognized for its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts,” the company’s annual 10-K filing said last year, but similar language was not included in its report from late February.

The toymaker included broader language in this year’s 10-K alluding to diversity, rather than naming it directly: “Mattel is committed to fostering a culture where all employees have the opportunity to realize their full potential,” the company’s 10-K filing said this year, adding that it “values a wide range of ideas and voices that help evolve and broaden its perspectives.”

The toymaker trumpets its Barbie collection as “the most diverse doll line.”

Its website also features a section titled “Barbie Celebrates Black History Month” as well as the “First Barbie Doll with Down Syndrome.” The company’s website highlights that its Barbies have 35 skin tones, 97 hairstyles, nine body types, “and counting.”