LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK

will no longer set diversity targets, it said on Thursday, as it

became the latest company to scale back or abandon such goals in

response to the U.S. president's opposition to them.

President Donald Trump has issued a series of executive

orders cutting federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)

programmes that attempt to promote opportunities for women,

ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ people and other traditionally

under-represented groups.

He has said the programmes are illegal and has threatened

investigations into them.

In its annual report published on Thursday, GSK said it had

largely met previous targets on increasing diversity in

ethnicity and gender in leadership.

It also said it remained committed to operating as a

responsible business with an inclusive culture, but that it

would make changes "including no longer setting aspirational

targets for our leadership and supplier programmes".

"We have paused, and in some cases, stopped certain

initiatives to ensure we remain compliant with the law in the

countries in which we operate, including the United States," GSK

said in its report.

Rival UK drugmaker AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said in its annual

report published last week that it remained committed to its

diversity and inclusion targets. A spokesperson for Danish

drugmaker Novo Nordisk said earlier this month that

the company also remained committed to is DEI programme.

GSK on Thursday also proposed increasing the annual salary

of its Chief Executive Emma Walmsley to as much as 21.6 million

pounds ($27.27 million), from 10.6 million pounds ($13.38

million) in 2024.

To reach that payout under the remuneration committee's

proposed new policy, GSK's share price would need to increase by

50%, according to the annual report.

It said Walmsley's current pay was insufficient to reward

her performance "or to provide the appropriate capacity for

succession".

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) CEO Pascal Soriot earned 14.7 million pounds in

2024 and could earn as much as 25.2 million annually under a new

pay policy.

($1 = 0.7920 pounds)