Walmart won’t discuss its transgender bathroom policy
Walmart remains silent after backlash over Target's trans-affirming policy
Walmart is refusing to say whether transgender customers can use the restroom of their choice in its stores.
The news comes after repeated requests by New York Daily News for the retailer’s official stance were met with silence. It puts Walmart at odds with Target, one of its biggest competitors, who openly stated their acceptance of transgender customers and employees earlier this year.
“Walmart’s silence on this is more than just silence. It’s giving bigotry a free pass,” Jessica Levin, from advocacy group Making Change at Walmart, told Daily News.Β “It’s the number one retailer in the country and it could set the standard for what other retailers do.”
Walmart currently scores 90% in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, for their support of same-sex marriage and an extensive nondiscrimination policy, but reticence to openly state their policy with regards trans bathroom usage could be ascribed to backlash over Target’s open support.
Over 1 million people signed a petition saying they would boycott Target after the retailer released a statement affirming support for the trans community and their right to urinate in peace. Target remained resolute, assuring trans people that the restroom policy would not change.
It also puts the company at odds with smaller retailers, such as Giant Foods, Whole Foods and Wegmans Food Markets. All three confirmed to Metro Weekly that transgender customers in their D.C.-area stores were welcome to use the restroom they felt most comfortable with, after a trans woman was attacked by a security guard in a D.C. Giant store last week.
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