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Lowe’s (LOW) is scaling back some of its diversity initiatives, becoming one of the largest companies yet to make such an about-face as activist pressure mounts.
The home improvement retailer reportedly communicated a decision to stop participating in diversity surveys issued by LGBTQ civil rights advocate Human Rights Campaign in a memo to employees Monday.
Lowe’s also reportedly told employees in the memo that the company would stop sponsoring and participating in community parades, festivals, and fairs.
Similar changes discarding so-called DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives have been picking up momentum at major US corporations in recent months as critics target what they describe as "woke" policies.
In June, under pressure from shareholders, rural retailer Tractor Supply (TSCO) announced that it would retire its DEI goals. In July, tractor maker John Deere (DE) announced that it would continue to track workforce diversity but end participation in cultural and social awareness-focused events.
Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Foreman (BF-A), Polaris (PII), and its motorcycle subsidiary Indian Motorcycle have also scrapped DEI policies.
Lowe's reversal is the only one from a company run by a black CEO. Its boss, Marvin Ellison, is the only black executive to have run two Fortune 500 companies: Lowe's and JCPenney.
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck said in a post on X that Lowe’s and the other companies that discarded diversity initiatives did so after he communicated plans to "expose" woke policies.
“So far you’ve helped me change corporate policy at Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle and now Lowe’s,” Starbuck wrote Monday in a post on X.
Lowe's did not respond to Yahoo Finance's request for comment.
A US Supreme Court ruling last year has been cited as a factor in corporate decisions to alter diversity policies.