Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is the latest company to make changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under pressure from a conservative activist.
The retail giant said it would not renew a racial equity center it created following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and it would no longer participate in an annual benchmark index from LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign.
Robby Starbuck said he warned Walmart last week he was working on a report about “wokeness.” According to Starbuck, the company then engaged in “productive conversations” to make changes.
“Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and it sets the tone for corporate America,” Starbuck told USA TODAY. “Changing the normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done.”
Walmart also committed to monitoring third-party items in the Walmart marketplace for “inappropriate sexual and/or transgender products marketed to children;” reviewing all Pride funding; and no longer using the term LatinX in official communications, Starbuck said.
Walmart said many of the DEI changes were in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck. For example, Walmart said it already switched its terminology from DEI to belonging and made changes to its supplier diversity program.
“We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said in an emailed statement.
After the murder of George Floyd in 2020 forced a historic reckoning with race in America, businesses pledged to make their workforces and their leadership better reflect the communities they serve.
Employees of color are underrepresented at every level of power in corporate America, according to USA TODAY data investigations. One analysis in 2023 found that white men account for 7 in 10 executive officers in the nation’s largest companies. About 1 in 7 of these companies had executive teams made up only of white men.
But four years after those 2020 promises, the political landscape has shifted. Though corporate diversity efforts are broadly supported by the American public – especially younger Americans – they face growing scrutiny in the courts and in statehouses across the country as right-wing foundations, think tanks and political operatives push “race-neutral” policies.
The Supreme Court decision in 2023 to ban the consideration of race in higher education only emboldened attacks on workplace programs.
Public sentiment has also shifted. Consumer boycotts that slashed sales forced some brands like Bud Light and Target to retreat from marketing campaigns to the LGBTQ+ community. Major brands like Ford and Lowe’s have abandoned initiatives and overhauled teams after pressure from Starbuck.
In conservative circles, the 2024 election is being viewed as a referendum on DEI. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to crack down on corporations that do business with the federal government.
More than 60% of corporate executives surveyed by business research group The Conference Board view today’s political climate for corporate DEI as very or extremely challenging, and most expected continued or escalating pushback.
Even so, fewer than 10% of the organizations planned to scale back their DEI commitments over the next three years.
Proponents say DEI programs are good for business, helping companies hire and retain diverse talent and create environments that boost innovation.
But business leaders are reluctant to talk about their initiatives. Major corporations including Walmart recently declined to make executives available to USA TODAY to discuss their DEI programs.