Walmart Jumps on the “Abolish DEI” Bandwagon
The retail giant is the latest company to roll back pro-diversity and pro-LGBTQ policies under pressure from conservatives.
Retail giant Walmart has become the largest U.S. corporation to roll back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives amid fervor by conservatives to eliminate policies they claim unfairly disadvantage white people, straight people, and cisgender individuals.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist, has been at the forefront of the crackdown against DEI policies in corporate America. On November 25, Starbuck said on X that he had threatened Walmart executives that he would be doing a story exposing “wokeness” at the company and eviscerating it for its pro-LGBTQ or pro-diversity policies.
But, Starbuck said, he instead had “productive conversations to find solutions.”
According to Starbuck, Walmart has agreed to remove “sexual” and transgender products inappropriately marketed towards children and will review grants to Pride events to ensure that the company is not funding “sexualized content,” including drag performances or Drag Queen Story Hours.
Walmart confirmed to FOX Business that it plans to change how it monitors products that it sells and will review any grants to outside organizations and community events to ensure any recipients are promoting “appropriate environments” for children.
The company will continue to support Pride celebrations — at least nominally, provided that the activities at such events contain no adult content.
As part of its overhaul, Walmart — which employs 1.6 million people — has agreed to prohibit third-party sellers from offering LGBTQ-themed items marketed to children, such as chest binders or books featuring transgender characters.
Walmart also agreed to end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, an annual survey and report that analyzes the inclusionary policies and benefits offered to LGBTQ employees by various companies.
The retail giant claimed that the changes have been in the works for years and were not the result of any conversations with Starbuck.
Walmart has also decided not to renew its Racial Equity Center, launched as a five-year initiative in 2020 in response to ongoing concerns about racial justice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, which sparked nationwide protests.
The company will also eradicate the terms “Latinx” and “DEI” in all official communications, saying it will instead focus on promoting “belonging” for all associates and customers, regardless of background, origin, or identity.
Walmart told FOX Business it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”
Among the corporations that have rolled back or eliminated their DEI policies in recent months are Stanley Black & Decker, Molson Coors, Ford Motor Company, Lowe’s Hardware, and Harley-Davidson.
Walmart’s rollback comes months before the Trump administration takes office in January. The new administration is expected to eliminate DEI policies through executive orders, such as potentially prohibiting companies with DEI policies from contracting with the U.S. government.
Jason Schwartz, the co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practice Group at law firm Gibson Dunn, told NBC New York that the expected backlash against DEI policies will put many companies in a bind.
“Companies are trying to strike the right balance to make clear they’ve got an inclusive workplace where everyone is welcome, and they want to get the best talent, while at the same time trying not to alienate various parts of their employees and customer base who might feel one way or the other,” he said.
“It’s a virtually impossible dilemma.”
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