By Lauren Hirsch, Emma Goldberg, and Jordyn Holman
In June 2020, amidst protests following George Floyd’s death, Walmart’s CEO, Doug McMillon, vowed to take action.
In a blog entry, he stated that “slavery, lynching, the notion of separate but equal … have evolved into systems today that are frequently unjust” and committed to tackling systemic racism by launching a Center for Racial Equity that would allocate $100 million in grants over a five-year span. He also promised to implement changes within the organization and “actively cultivate a culture that is more inclusive.”
Fast forward four and a half years, Walmart is conveying a different narrative, retracting some initiatives concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion, referred to as DEI.
As part of this shift, the corporation will cease sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that monitors corporate LGBTQ+ policies. Third-party sellers will no longer be allowed to list certain LGBTQ+-themed items, such as chest binders, on Walmart.com that could be marketed to minors. Furthermore, it will stop using the terms DEI and Latinx in official communications. Walmart will also let the Center for Racial Equity, the philanthropic endeavor introduced by McMillon in 2020, lapse next year when the agreement concludes.
Robby Starbuck, a critic of DEI initiatives and social media influencer, deemed the changes a triumph on Monday. In a social media post, Starbuck mentioned that he had informed company executives of his intention to write a story about “wokeness” at Walmart, but instead, the two parties engaged in “productive conversations” to enact changes “before the holiday season when consumers have few major retail brands they can patronize that aren’t advocating woke policies.” A Walmart spokesperson confirmed the changes, some of which were already in progress.
“We’ve been on a journey and recognize we aren’t flawless, but every choice stems from a desire to nurture a sense of belonging, to create opportunities for all our associates, customers, and suppliers, and to represent a Walmart for everyone,” the company stated in a release.
Walmart wasn’t the only corporation to make DEI commitments in 2020. At that time, there were doubts about whether it was a genuine movement or merely a fleeting moment.
“I suspected in 2020 we might witness something of this nature, but the backlash has indeed been intense,” stated David Glasgow, executive director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU School of Law.
Numerous organizations are also wary of potential legal challenges aimed at DEI programs following a 2023 Supreme Court ruling that abolished race-conscious college admissions. At NYU School of Law, the Meltzer Center has been conducting quarterly webinars for employers to help them comprehend which DEI initiatives are legally secure and which might expose them to lawsuits.
Glasgow and his team utilize a mnemonic known as “the three P’s”: programs that provide preference to legally protected groups and offer them tangible benefits — like hiring quotas or internships restricted to candidates of particular races — can put employers at legal risk.
Diversity authorities point out that while companies are anxious about the social and cultural repercussions they face, they must also navigate concerns regarding their workforce. Some believe that reducing DEI commitments will impede efforts to attract and maintain Black employees.
“What’s disheartening — the repercussions from this — is that organizations that have distanced themselves from their DEI pledges may struggle to recruit people of color and face greater challenges in retaining them once they are hired,” asserted Frank Dobbin, a DEI specialist at Harvard University and author of the 2022 book “Getting to Diversity.” “This could have an unfortunate impact on Walmart’s existing employees.”
For Black employees, noted Adia Harvey Wingfield, a sociologist and DEI specialist at Washington University in St. Louis, retreating from diversity measures “reinforces the notion that they are unwelcome.”
Starbuck has conducted online campaigns against various firms whose policies he considers excessively “woke.” While he is as much a beneficiary of a trend to roll back DEI policies as he is a catalyst for it, companies throughout the United States have been bracing for possible activist backlash. For them, the calculation involves balancing the impact on suppliers and employees against the potential financial repercussions of a boycott or other actions advocated by Starbuck. Walmart’s decisions highlight the possible risks they see in a public confrontation, especially as the anti-DEI movement gains momentum following Donald Trump’s election.
Until now, it has been evident which types of corporations were modifying their DEI strategies. “What we aren’t witnessing are organizations that primarily recruit from liberal elite institutions scaling back on DEI,” Glasgow remarked.
Starbuck initially targeted firms with clientele he believed would likely sympathize with his agenda, such as Tractor Supply and John Deere. Walmart represents a distinct category of corporation: one with employees and customers across the political spectrum, which Starbuck has described as a “50-50” client demographic.
“This is Walmart positioning itself for a Trump administration and Justice Department,” said Amber Madison, co-founder of Peoplism, a DEI consulting firm. “If Walmart’s evaluation of the Trump administration suggests it will favor its allies and oppose its adversaries, this is Walmart signaling its allegiance.”
Starbuck would likely concur. “America just made its choice, and we voted against ‘wokeness,’” Starbuck stated in a video shared on the social platform X, as he revealed his upcoming targets: Amazon and Target.
