Walmart, the world’s largest retailer by sales, is cutting back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs and instead promoting a corporate culture of “belonging” that does not include race or gender specific criteria.
Walmart joins a growing list of companies that are sidelining DEI programs as a backlash to so-called “woke” initiatives grows stronger in conservative circles. Tractor Supply Co. was one of the first to publicly renounce its DEI commitments in early summer this year and has since been joined by such prominent names as Google, Meta, Snap, Tesla, Lyft, Home Depot, X and Door Dash.
Walmart WMT confirmed to the Associated Press several steps that it is taking to move away from DEI. Among them:
- It will better monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they don’t feature sexual and transgender products aimed at minors. That would include chest binders intended for youth who are going through a gender change, the company said.
- The Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer will also be reviewing grants to Pride events to make sure it is not financially supporting sexualized content that may be unsuitable for kids. For example, the company wants to makes sure a family pavilion is not next to a drag show at a Pride event, the company said.
- Additionally, Walmart will no longer consider race and gender as a litmus test to improve diversity when it offers supplier contracts. The company said it didn’t have quotas and will not do so going forward. It won’t be gathering demographic data when determining financing eligibility for those grants.
- Walmart also said it wouldn’t renew a racial equity center that was 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 gaps in outcomes experienced by Black and African American people in education, health, finance and criminal justice systems.”
- And it would stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual benchmark index that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees.
“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 a statement.
A Walmart spokesperson told the Associated Press that said some of its policy changes have been in progress for a while. For example, it has been moving away from using the word DEI in job titles and communications and started to use the word “belonging.”
“Belonging is the outcome of a culture where all associates thrive and perform in their careers, feel accepted and valued for their unique contributions, and can have a positive impact on the business. When associates feel like they belong, they’re more engaged and empowered to deliver great service to our customers and members,” the company says on its website.
Walmart told AP it also started making changes to its supplier program in the aftermath of the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling in June of 2023 that prohibits colleges and universities from using race as a criteria for admissions.