NEW YORK– Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is rolling back its diversity, equality and inclusion policies, joining a growing list of major companies that have done the same after coming under attack from conservative activists.
The changes, confirmed Monday by Walmart, are sweeping and include everything from not renewing a five-year commitment to a racial equity center created in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd to pulling out of a prominent gay rights index. And when it comes to race or gender, Walmart won’t prioritize suppliers.
Walmart’s moves underscore the mounting pressure facing corporate America as the country continues to deal with the fallout from the June 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action in college admissions. Strengthened by that decision, Conservative groups have filed lawsuits make similar arguments about companies, targeting initiatives in the workplace such as diversity programs and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups.
In addition, conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck has thrown his weight behind corporate DEI policies, calling out individual companies on the social media platform X. Several of those companies have subsequently announced they are pulling back on their initiatives, including FordHarley Davidson, Lowe’s And Tractor offer.
But Walmart, which employs 1.6 million workers in the US, is the largest to do so.
“This is the biggest victory yet for our movement to end wokeness in corporate America,” Starbuck wrote on X, adding that he had been in talks with Walmart.
Walmart confirmed to The Associated Press that it will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to ensure they do not contain sexual and transgender products targeted at minors. This also includes coffin binders intended for young people undergoing gender reassignment, the company said.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will also review subsidies for Pride events to ensure no financial support is provided for sexualized content that may be inappropriate for children. For example, the company wants to ensure that a family pavilion is not next to a drag show during a Pride event, the company said.
Additionally, Walmart will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test for improving diversity when offering supplier contracts. The company said it has no quota and will not do so in the future. It will not collect demographic data in determining funding opportunities for these grants.
Walmart also said it would not renew a racial equity center established through a five-year, $100 million philanthropic commitment from the company with a mandate to, according to its website, “address the root causes of the gaps in outcomes that Black people face.” people experience.” and African American people in the systems of education, health care, finance, and criminal justice.”
And it would stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index, which measures workplace inclusivity for LGBTQ+ employees.
“We have been on a journey and know we are not perfect, but every decision comes from a desire to foster a sense of belonging, open doors of opportunity for all of our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart. for everyone,” the company said in a statement.
The changes come shortly after the election victory of former President Donald Trump, who has criticized DEI initiatives and surrounded himself with conservatives who hold similar views, including his former adviser Stephen Miller, who heads a group called America First Legal that has called into question corporate DEI policies. . Trump appointed Miller as deputy chief policy officer in his new government.
A Walmart spokesperson said some of its policy changes have been in the works for some time. For example, the company has moved away from using the word DEI in job titles and communications and started using the word “belonging.” It also began making changes to its supplier program in the wake of the positive Supreme Court ruling.
Some have urged companies to stick to their DEI policies. Last month is one group of Democrats in Congress appealed the leaders of the Fortune 1000, who say DEI efforts give everyone a fair chance to achieve the American dream.