Home goods retailer Lowe’s has scaled back its efforts to promote LGBTQ inclusion — the latest big company to respond to a growing cultural backlash led by conservatives targeting gay representation in public life.
In an internal company memo being widely shared among media organizations, Lowe’s told employees it was ending its participation in surveys for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, and would also consolidate company resource groups designed to support minority employees into one umbrella organization.
The company said it would also end sponsorships and participation in community events such as parades, festivals or fairs — a reference to pride parades. Most recently in 2019, Lowe's was a sponsor of Charlotte, North Carolina's pride parade.
A company spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Although some media reports suggested Lowe's was largely reversing its diversity efforts, these changes appear to specifically target LGBTQ representation. Lowe's has previously earned praise as a diversity champion — and earned a perfect score in HRC's most recent Corporate Equality Index, which examines its policies to protect LGBTQ workers.
Since 2018, Lowe's has been led by an African American CEO, Marvin Ellison; in June, Ellison was named Ethical Leader of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management, the nation's largest human resources organization.
As of Tuesday morning, Lowe's continued to operate a webpage dedicated to its diversity efforts.
“We're committed to fostering a culture where every Lowe's team member truly feels like they belong,” it says. “When associates are their authentic selves at work, they perform at their best — and when that happens, we all win.”
On that page is a quote from the HR director that says: “On our team, we care about your overall well-being. We've created an environment where different perspectives and backgrounds are respected and valued.”
Lowe's changes follow announcements by Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman; as well as similar changes by Tractor Supply, John Deere and Best Buy. Earlier this year, the New York State Comptroller, who manages the state's $207 billion public pension fund that has investments in Best Buy, questioned the company's commitment to inclusivity and supporting the LGBTQ community.
The unofficial leader of the corporate pressure campaign is Robby Starbuck, a video streamer and right-wing online activist. On Monday, Starbuck posted on X that he helped instigate the changes at Lowe's, saying he received an email from a Lowe's executive in response to a warning he sent to the company that he plans to “expose” the company's “woke” policies.
“Now we're forcing billion-dollar organizations to change their policies without posting anything because they're afraid we'll be the next company to be shut down,” he wrote. “We're winning, and one by one we'll bring sanity back to corporate America.”
Starbucks did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Lowe's decision shows that the conservative campaign against gay rights, which began with Target and Bud Light in previous years, is continuing apace, and helps make clear that the campaign against the “woke” is often an attempt to silence LGBTQ voices.
A spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign did not immediately comment on Lowe's latest move. But the group published a statement last week following Brown-Forman's decision.
“Haphazardly abandoning efforts that ensure a fair, safe, and inclusive work environment for LGBTQ+ people based on the outrage manufactured by MAGA thugs is the wrong business to do and leaves their employees and millions of LGBTQ+ allied customers behind,” said Eric Bloom, HRC Foundation’s vice president of programs and corporate advocacy.