Walmart withdraws from diversity initiatives: A turning point in Corporate America

The retail giant Walmart has become the latest U.S. company to decide to discontinue some of its initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) after being threatened with a conservative boycott, at a critical time before the high-revenue Black Friday. Walmart justified the decision with the desire to foster a sense of belonging, open opportunities for all employees, customers, and suppliers, and be a "Walmart for everyone." According to conservative activist Robby Starbuck, Walmart will no longer consider race and gender in awarding supplier contracts, will halt employee training on racial equality, and will withdraw from the LGBT+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. This decision follows similar steps by companies such as Ford, Boeing, Molson Coors, Caterpillar, Lowe's, and John Deere. Walmart, the largest U.S. company with a revenue of $648 billion last fiscal year, is the most prominent example of the retreat from DEI commitments. Starbuck, who has mobilized his 700,000 followers on X, described Walmart's decision as the biggest success yet in the fight against "wokeness" in the U.S. corporate world. Although many U.S. companies vowed to take binding measures against discrimination following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the backlash from conservative groups is increasing. Stanley Black & Decker and Brown-Forman, the parent company of Jack Daniel's Whiskey, have also changed or discontinued their diversity programs. In conversations with Walmart executives, Starbuck emphasized his intention to report on Walmart’s diversity efforts before the busy shopping season and praised the constructive discussions for finding solutions. Additionally, Walmart will no longer use the term "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and will tighten its restrictions on LGBT+ products in the third-party marketplace. Critics see this as a step back to political neutrality in the corporate world, while Morning Consult surveys show that a majority of Americans support diversity efforts.