Meta in January joined the growing list of companies back-tracking on its DEI efforts.Meta
Many companies have pulled back or ended DEI programs amid pressure from conservative activists and a new administration.
Companies that have withdrawn or toned down DEI initiatives include Target, Meta, and McDonald's.
President Trump moved to end DEI initiatives at federal agencies shortly after his return to the White House.
The number of companies ending their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs continues to grow.
Target is the most recent example, joining companies including Meta and Walmart in announcing the rollback of multiple DEI initiatives.
The decision comes days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end diversity programs across the federal government and ordered all federal DEI staffers be placed on leave while their departments are disbanded.
The move away from DEI policies is part of an ongoing wave of backlash against diversity programs at American companies.
Tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom cut DEI programs last year, and law firms, including Winston & Strawn, faced lawsuits for affirmative action.
Some DEI initiatives have faced backlash from conservatives and activist groups, including mounting social media campaigns, many led by Robby Starbuck. Starbuck, a prominent conservative activist with a sizable social media following, has argued that these initiatives don't align with the values of companies' largely conservative consumer bases.
That said, 61% of Americans support DEI practices, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll in April, and companies including Costco and JPMorgan have publicly defended their diversity initiatives.
The Human Rights Campaign slammed companies' DEI rollbacks in an August statement to BI.
"Decisions to cut DEI initiatives send a clear signal to employees that their employers simply don't care about equality in the workplace. Putting politics ahead of workers and consumers only hurts the same folks that these businesses rely on," wrote Eric Bloem, the nonprofit group's vice president of programs and corporate advocacy.
Here are how some companies have cut their DEI programs.
Target
Amid anti-DEI executive orders by President Trump, Target announced the rollback of multiple DEI initiatives.JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock
Target sent a memo to its employees on Friday announcing the end of its three-year DEI goals.
Written by Kiera Fernandez, Target's chief community impact and equity officer, the memo characterized the change as a way to remain "in step with the evolving external landscape."
The memo also announced that Target would no longer participate in surveys that monitored diversity within the company, and would end a program to carry more products from minority-owned businesses.
Target will also be changing the name of its "Supplier Diversity" team to "Supplier Engagement."
Meta
Meta slashed its DEI team in January.Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images
Meta announced it was rolling back many of its DEI initiatives in January.
In an internal memo, the company's vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, said there would no longer be a team focused on DEI, adding that the term had become charged and that it suggested, to some, "preferential treatment of some groups over others."
"The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing," she wrote. "The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI."
The changes affect diversity efforts across hiring, choosing suppliers, and training, the memo said.
McDonald's
McDonald's paused some of its DEI efforts in January.Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Fast food giant McDonald's joined the ranks of large American companies rolling back some DEI initiatives.
The company announced in a press release on January 6 that it would stop setting representation goals, pause participating in external surveys related to DEI, and end a requirement for supply chain partners to adhere to DEI targets.
McDonald's diversity team will also get a new name. It'll be called the "Global Inclusion Team" instead, the company said in its January announcement.
Despite these changes, McDonald's says inclusion remains one of its "core values."
Representatives of McDonald's did not respond to a request for comment from BI sent outside regular working hours.
Harley-Davidson
Harley-Davidson said that it would drop diversity-related programs following conservative backlash.Georg Wend/Getty Images
In August, Harley-Davidson said on X that it would drop diversity-based spending goals from suppliers, halt socially motivated employee training, and withdraw from an annual LGBTQ acceptance rating by the Human Rights Campaign, Bloomberg reported.
Harley told Bloomberg that the company was "saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community," following Starbuck's calls on X for the company to apologize and change its policies.
Bloem, from the Human Rights Campaign, said in the statement to BI that retreating from DEI hurts employees and customers.
"Harley-Davidson's choice to back away from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fueled by fringe right-wing actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can bully their way into dismantling initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace," Bloem wrote.
John Deere
John Deere was the target of Starbuck's social media campaign in July.Rick Wilking/Reuters
John Deere has pulled back on its DEI commitments, including no longer participating in cultural awareness events and abolishing the company's pronoun policy, BI reported in July.
While John Deere did not publicly announce the reason for its decision, the shift came following online criticism from Starbuck in a video from X, which garnered over 5 million views in July.
Tractor Supply Company
Tractor Supply was the target of a social media campaign that led to a pullback of DEI programs in June.Tractor Supply Co.
Tractor Supply significantly scaled back its DEI programs, including eliminating diversity roles and withdrawing from Pride event sponsorship. The company also announced that it would no longer provide data to the Human Rights Campaign, and it would end its carbon emission goals. This came after Starbuck's criticized the company for promoting what he labeled as "woke" policies, NPR reported in June.
Polaris
Polaris was not a target of Starbuck, but chose to cut DEI efforts in a bid to abstain from political conversation.Bruce Bisping/Getty Images
While Starbuck did not specifically target Polaris, the Harley competitor has reduced its DEI efforts, including removing any mention of the term from its web pages. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company emphasized its intention to abstain from political discussion.
Lowe's
Lowe's announced it would withdraw from surveys by the Human Rights Campaign and merge resource groups for minority employeesSpencer Platt/Getty Images
Home improvement retailer Lowe's said that it would scale back its DEI programs in an internal note viewed by Bloomberg.
Per the memo, the company will stop participating in surveys run by the Human Rights Campaign, and it will merge resource groups for minority employees into one umbrella organization, Bloomberg reported on August 27.
Starbuck said on X that he caused Lowe's policy shift. However, a Lowe's spokesperson told Bloomberg that they had already begun making changes prior to Starbuck's involvement.
Lowe's has a consumer base largely consisting of rural baby boomers, according to data from the consumer analytics firm Numerator.. The company was labeled "best place to work for LGBTQ equality" by the Human Rights Campaign in Lowe's 2021 culture, diversity, and inclusion report.
Orlando Gonzales, the senior vice president of programs of research and training at the Human Rights Campaign, told BI in a statement that scaling back from DEI policies would have negative consequences for companies in the long run.
"Companies should not cower to a random guy with zero business experience," Gonzales said, citing Starbuck's removal from the Tennessee GOP ballot in 2022.
Ford
Ford announced that it would withdraw from participation in HRC diversity rankings and restructure employee resource groupsMatt Cardy/Getty Images
In an internal email shared with Bloomberg by Starbuck, the carmaker said that it would pull out of certain diversity rankings, such as the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index.
The company also said that it would reorient its employee resource groups to make them accessible to all staff. Ford also pledged to be less involved in political matters and changed some corporate sponsorships.
Ford faced backlash last month after it saw quality issues and vehicle recalls.
Starbuck wrote in a post on X that Ford's withdrawal from DEI initiatives came just as he was investigating Ford's "woke policies."
Meanwhile, the HRC said that Ford "cowered" to Starbuck and that the company had "decades of commitment to inclusion and top ratings on the HRC Corporate Equality Index."
"The Human Rights Campaign could not be more disappointed to see the company shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders," said HRC president Kelley Robinson in a statement.
Molson Coors
Molson Coors is pulling back on DEI policies, including supplier diversity quotas and DEI-based company training programs.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Beverage company Molson Coors is scrapping many of its DEI policies and initiatives, CNBC reported in September.
In an internal memo obtained by BI, Molson Coors said it would remove quotas for supplier diversity. These quotas, which encourage sourcing supplies from minority or women-owned businesses, can be "complicated and influenced by factors outside" the company's control.
Additionally, the brewer stated that it will shift company training away from DEI-based programs to focus more on key business objectives.
The company said the decision to scale back, which was in the works since March, was made to ensure that executive compensation is solely based on business performance and does not include "aspirational representation goals," according to the memo.
Molson Coors will also no longer participate in the HRC Equality Index or any other third-party company rankings, reported CNBC. The company has previously received a perfect 100-point score for 19 consecutive years.
The memo added that the driving force behind the change was "the understanding that when all our people know they are welcome, they are more engaged, motivated, and committed to our company's collective success."
Survey results published by the HRC in September found that more than 75% of adults from the LGBTQ+ community unfavorably view companies that rolled back DEI initiatives.
The HRC's Gonzales said that the LGBTQ+ community holds over $1.4 trillion in spending power in the US and wants to "work for and support companies who support us."
None of the companies responded to BI's requests for comment.
Walmart
Walmart is rolling back its DEI programs amid backlash from conservative activist Robby Starbuck.Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Walmart will end some of its DEI initiatives, including winding down its nonprofit Center for Racial Equity, which Walmart funded with $100 million in 2020 for five years, and discontinuing programs that assist minority-owned suppliers.
The company will also stop using the phrase DEI in company documents, stop sharing the details of its LGBTQ+ corporate policies with the Human Rights Campaign and stop allowing third-party sellers to list items marketed toward the LGBTQ+ community.
"We are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America. We've been on a journey and know we aren't perfect," Walmart said in a statement to BI.
In a post on the social media platform X, conservative activist Robby Starbuck claimed credit for Walmart's policy change, calling it "the biggest win yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America."
Nissan
Nissan said it was rolling back some DEI initiatives.Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images
Nissan is rolling back some of its diversity initiatives, Starbuck announced on social media in December.
In a statement provided to BI when asked about Starbuck's post, Nissan said, "Whether with employees, customers, business partners, or the communities we serve, we believe that Nissan is a company for everyone. For nearly four decades, our commitment to respect and inclusion has been rooted in our values, shaped an environment where each of our team members can contribute at work, and ultimately contributed to the success of our business."
Starbuck said when he reached out to Nissan about their "woke policies" the company was receptive. He shared a letter that he said was sent to Nissan employees from company exec Jeremie Papin.
The letter said the company would stop participating in third-party surveys with organizations "heavily focused on political activism." Starbuck said that meant the company would not participate in the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
The letter also said the company would align employee training with "core business objectives" that support "personal job performance and career advancement."
Nissan told BI it was already working on its communications with employees due to questions received internally but acknowledged it had also spoken with Starbuck ahead of the announcement.
