Publishing platform Medium announced it remains fully committed to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, affirming its stance at a time when numerous other U.S. tech companies have pulled back from such initiatives amidst pressures from the Trump administration.
In a blog post published on Monday, CEO Tony Stubblebine emphasized the importance of maintaining a diverse and inclusive community, arguing that businesses shouldn’t have to choose between profitability and social responsibility. According to the executive, Medium sees diversity as both a moral imperative and a strategic advantage. Stubblebine underscored that meaningful dialogue, rather than divisive rhetoric or culture wars, is essential for fostering understanding and progress.
“As a CEO, I feel confident that embracing diversity as a strategy increases the business, cultural, and intellectual capabilities of our company,” Stubblebine wrote. He added that the platform’s success comes directly from providing an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but essential, as they offer insights into experiences different from one’s own.
Medium’s policies clearly prohibit hateful content, threats of violence, harassment, racial slurs, promotion of pseudoscience or disinformation, harmful stereotypes, intentional misgendering of individuals, and other behaviors that disrupt a respectful community environment.
This commitment sharply contrasts with the moderation policies of Medium’s competitor Substack, whose more permissive approach centered around free speech has recently allowed white nationalist content to appear on its platform, prompting backlash among users. Substack’s co-founder, Hamish McKenzie, stated previously that censoring or demonetizing controversial content would not resolve underlying issues.
Medium’s explicit reaffirmation of its DEI values sets it apart amid a larger trend of significant retrenchment seen across U.S. corporations. Several prominent companies, including McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Walmart, Target, Ford, John Deere, Booz Allen, and Molson Coors, have rolled back their DEI commitments in response to political pressures. In contrast, others like Apple, Delta, Costco, JPMorgan, and McKinsey have announced they will maintain their diversity initiatives.
Founded by Twitter co-founder Evan Williams, Medium appointed Tony Stubblebine as CEO in July 2022, with Williams becoming chairman of the board. The platform now has over a million paying members and reaches nearly 100 million readers and writers monthly. Last summer, Medium reported its first-ever profitable month, although as a privately held company, it does not disclose detailed financial performance publicly.
