Boeing Dismantles DEI Team, Chief Resigns

The Boeing logo is displayed at the company's factory in in Renton, Wash., on Sept. 24, 2024. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File

The head of aircraft manufacturer Boeing’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts announced her resignation on Thursday amid reports the company has dismantled the department.

Sara Liang Bowen, a company vice president who led the now-dismantled DEI department since 2019, shared news of her departure on LinkedIn.

“Today I turn in my blue badge,” Bowen wrote. “It has been the privilege of my lifetime to lead Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Boeing company these past 5+ years. Our team strived every day to support the evolving brilliance and creativity of our workforce. The team achieved so much—sometimes imperfectly, never easily—and dreamed of doing much more still.”

Bowen’s resignation was announced amid intensified scrutiny of Boeing’s safety practices and corporate priorities.

In January, an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737 Max 9 experienced a mid-air incident in which a door panel blew off, leading to an emergency landing. This event prompted federal scrutiny of Boeing’s safety culture.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Justice Department have opened separate investigations into the company following the blowout incident.

On June 18, then-CEO Dave Calhoun testified before the U.S. Senate, addressing concerns on both sides of the aisle about the company’s safety practices.

Lawmakers grilled Calhoun about Boeing’s public and internal plans to increase safety and what he has done since he took over the leadership role in 2020.

Calhoun said the door blowout incident on the Jan. 5 Alaskan Airlines flight was caused by a “manufacturing defect,” not poor design.

The incident, in which the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel detached at 16,000 feet, along with whistleblower allegations, has intensified scrutiny of the company’s management priorities.

Boeing has been criticized for its focus on DEI, particularly after the release of its 2023 Global Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Report. The report noted that Boeing had incorporated DEI targets into its 2022 executive compensation metrics, in addition to its traditional focus on safety and quality benchmarks.

Bowen noted in the report the several DEI milestones Boeing had achieved under her leadership, including increased representation of women and racial and ethnic minorities across all levels of the workforce, from engineering roles to executive positions.

Boeing also incorporated DEI metrics into incentive compensation in 2022, with diverse interview slates for 92 percent of management and executive roles, and reported that nearly half of those hires were from underrepresented backgrounds, according to the report. Last year, Boeing committed to boosting black employment by 20 percent by 2025, with 17 percent achieved as of 2023, according to the report.

“Women are over 24 percent of our workforce and are more represented at nearly every level compared to a year ago, including executive, manager, engineering, and professional ranks, as well as on the factory floor,” Bowen wrote. “Racial and ethnic minorities are now over 35 percent of our U.S. workforce and more represented in management, engineering, professional positions, and in the factory compared to a year ago.”

Following news of Bowen’s departure, Boeing reiterated its commitment to recruiting top talent and fostering an inclusive work environment.

“Boeing remains committed to recruiting and retaining top talent and creating an inclusive work environment where every teammate around the world can perform at their best while supporting the company’s mission,” the company said in a statement.

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck claimed responsibility for the company’s decision to dismantle its DEI department.

Starbuck wrote on X that he emailed new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg about his plans to launch a campaign against the company’s DEI policies, as he has done with companies such as John Deere, which also stepped back from its DEI policies. 

Calhoun announced in March that he was stepping down from leading Boeing. He was replaced by Ortberg in July.