Desiree Ralls-Morrison, executive vice president and chief legal officer of McDonald’s, saw her total compensation drop by 19% in 2024, a result of the fast-food giant’s underwhelming financial performance. According to McDonald’s proxy filing with the SEC, her pay totaled $3.8 million, down from $4.7 million in 2023, as the company significantly reduced short-term incentive payouts for senior executives.

Although Ralls-Morrison’s base salary increased slightly to $845,833, her bonus fell to just $234,345, compared to $1.2 million the prior year. The drop stemmed from McDonald’s missing key financial targets: operating income and systemwide sales failed to meet expectations, with net income slipping 3% to $8.2 billion. “Our below-target operating income and systemwide sales performance in 2024 resulted in a corporate short-term incentive plan payout factor of 27%,” the proxy stated, as reported by Law.com.

Ralls-Morrison joined McDonald’s in April 2021 and quickly led the company’s legal response in a high-profile dispute with former CEO Steve Easterbrook, recovering $105 million in a settlement over his misconduct. Since then, she has championed the company’s social and environmental initiatives, including sustainable packaging for Happy Meal toys and supplier diversity goals.

But McDonald’s DEI efforts are now drawing renewed attention and criticism amid shifting political and investor pressures. In January, the company sent a mixed-message email reaffirming inclusion goals—such as achieving a 25% diverse-owned supplier spend—while announcing it would “retire” some aspirational representation targets. It also rebranded its DEI team as the “Global Inclusion Team.”

Following the email, some interpreted McDonald’s as softening its DEI stance, a perception Ralls-Morrison strongly contested. Writing on LinkedIn, she rejected media portrayals as inaccurate, saying, “Our commitment to inclusion is steadfast.” She shared an article defending the company’s evolving DEI approach and emphasized pride in McDonald’s accomplishments as a Black woman in a leadership role.

Nonetheless, the company’s DEI commitments are being scrutinized by shareholders. The conservative National Legal and Policy Center submitted a proposal asking McDonald’s to consider removing DEI-related criteria from executive compensation frameworks, citing increasing legal risks tied to perceived quotas and set-asides. The board urged shareholders to reject the measure, arguing it would interfere with the compensation committee’s discretion and that McDonald’s pay practices already align with its strategic goals.

The shareholder pressure comes as the Trump administration’s executive orders threaten private companies with investigations or contract sanctions for DEI practices deemed discriminatory. McDonald’s stands at the intersection of legal, reputational, and regulatory forces as it seeks to navigate its business priorities, executive compensation, and inclusion efforts in a politically charged environment.