Home improvement chain Lowe’s is the latest brand to withdraw its support for Pride events and other diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs due to consumer boycotts.
Lowe’s is ending its partnership with the Human Rights Campaign, a major LGBTQ group, and will no longer categorize employees into so-called “support groups” based on race, religion or sexual identity, an internal memo said.
The company also will stop sponsoring parades, festivals and fairs and instead will focus on events related to its business, such as affordable housing and trade training, the memo said.
In recent weeks, Jack Daniel’s, Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply and John Deere have all reversed their course on DEI amid anger from conservative consumers who reject progressive policies.
Lowe’s has eliminated much of its DEI work, according to an internal memo from the company with more than 1,700 stores, including this Los Angeles location
Anti-DEI campaigner Robby Starbuck claims another scalp with Lowe’s pushback on Pride parades
Anti-DEI campaigner Robby Starbuck welcomed X’s move, saying Lowe’s had bowed to pressure from consumers who reject the “woke” and “ridiculous” diversity policies of American companies.
“We are winning and one by one we will bring corporate America back to its senses,” said Starbuck, 35.
“Lowe’s says there could be more changes in the future, and there should be. They should eliminate their DEI team altogether.”
According to Starbucks, he approached Lowe’s last week and told the company he planned to take on the DIY giant over policies such as employee groups and donations to Pride events.
The company responded Monday with preemptive changes, the Tennessee-based Cuban-American activist said.
Lowe’s, a $42 billion company with nearly 300,000 employees in 1,700 stores and headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina, did not respond to The Mail’s request for comment.
But in a memo to employees Monday, executives said that Lowe’s, like other companies, has begun reviewing its DEI policies following the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions.
“We recently decided to merge our corporate resource groups, which represented different segments of our associate population, into one umbrella organization,” the memo said.
“Furthermore, we will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s investigation.”
Many companies that embraced DEI policies following the May 2020 killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd by a police officer later backed away from them for fear of angering conservative customers.
Lowe’s CEO Marvin Ellison, who makes $18 million a year, is leading the retailer away from DEI
The $42 billion company has nearly 300,000 employees across 1,700 locations
Since 2021, some companies have received letters from shareholders stating that their DEI policies amount to illegal discrimination and breach directors’ duties to investors.
For some, DEI programs are important and necessary because they can help overcome historical racism and sexism and make it easier for people of all backgrounds to advance in education and the workforce.
Critics say it is a form of reverse discrimination that unfairly targets straight, white men.
Others say that while DEI policies are well-intentioned, they rarely achieve their desired goals and
that mandatory workshops on “microaggressions” and “white fragility” often make the situation worse by sowing division in offices and classrooms.
An Ipsos poll in April found that 61 percent of voters called DEI a “good thing.”
Yet a Gallup survey from the same period found that only 38 percent of people wanted companies to take a stand on current events, down 10 percentage points from 2022.