NEW YORK (AP) — Home improvement chain Lowe’s is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, joining a number of other companies that have overhauled their programs following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Unlawful affirmative action During college admissions or after facing conservative backlash online.
In an internal memo shared by Lowe’s with The Associated Press, its executive leadership said the retailer began a “review” of its programs following the court’s July 2023 ruling and that the company recently decided to combine its resource groups, which are for “individual groups representing a diverse segment of our associate population,” into one umbrella organization.
The retailer will also no longer participate in an annual survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign that measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, and it will also stop sponsoring and participating in events such as festivals and parades that take place outside of its business areas.
The memo states that these changes were made to ensure that Lowe's policies are “legal” and consistent with its commitment to “inclusion of all.”
“We may make additional changes over time,” the company's leadership team said in the memo. “However, what will not change is our commitment to our people.”
Robby Starbuck, a conservative political commentator who has targeted companies such as Tractor Supply and John Deere, Credited on Monday for changes to a post on the xHe said he contacted a Lowe's executive online last week and detailed his plans to “expose” the company's hiring policies and other topics, such as funding for LGBTQ+ employee resource groups and Pride events.
However, Lowe's spokesman Steve Salazar denied this claim in an email on Tuesday, saying that Starbucks' move comes after the company had internally “already announced changes that had been in process for a long time.” The company memo did not clarify when these changes were actually implemented, but said they were discussed in an August 21 meeting.
Last week, Lowe's debunked another claim circulating on social media, in which a digitally altered image quoted Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison as saying that conservatives who don't like the company's values should shop at rival Home Depot instead.
“Lowe's CEO did not make this comment,” the company said. wrote on x in reply Several users shared the photo, writing, “Everyone is welcome at Lowe's.”
For his part, Ellison has said that Diversified the company's rankshas added more women and ethnically diverse leaders since taking the helm in 2018. Ellison, who is Black and grew up in segregated rural Tennessee, has also been outspoken about racism since the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked massive protests for racial justice in 2020.
Criticism of such DEI policies has spread beyond Lowe's to companies across all industries. This has included calls for boycotts on social media, as well as many other calls for action. Legal strikes in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision, which many anti-DEI activists seek to use to challenge the rule of law. Similar precedent in the working world.
Starbucks, which has a huge following on X, has used the platform as a megaphone to target DEI policies. Tractor SupplyAgricultural Equipment Manufacturers John Deeremotorcycle maker Harley-Davidson and whiskey maker Jack Daniels. During an interview with the AP last month, the 35-year-old Cuban American said he has a list of companies he's thinking about posting content about, but he's starting with companies that have traditionally conservative customer bases.
Following an online pressure campaign earlier this summer, Tractor Supply and John Deere ended some diversity measures. Last week, Harley-Davidson returned to its DEI policies, though the company noted in its announcement that it “will not operate a DEI function through April 2024.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Jack Daniel's parent company Brown-Forman said last week that it had “adjusted” its diversity and inclusion strategy “to ensure it continues to drive our business results, while also appropriately recognizing the current environment in which we find ourselves.” Starbucks suggested on X that the company had already responded to employee feedback after their team viewed their profiles on LinkedIn.
Though conservative activists have welcomed these changes, DEI advocates say that by bowing to Starbucks and other right-wing figures, corporations are essentially bowing to hate.
“Racial justice and LGBTQ inclusion are being scapegoated by, for lack of a better word, a small, organized effort that really wants to dictate how companies conduct their business,” said Jen Stark, co-director of the Center for Business and Social Justice at BSR, a consulting network for more than 300 companies.
Stark said it's a challenging environment for companies today, but he stressed that most companies are keeping diversity and inclusion programs in place because they're good for business. However, after last year's Supreme Court decision, he said businesses need to make sure their DEI programs are “on solid ground” — and avoid overcorrecting when and if there's a backlash, which he said could cause more harm.
“This isn't just a step backward for workplaces. It's actually a step backward from the ways in which we normalize practices that create barriers and barriers for everyone,” he said.
On Tuesday, the Human Rights Campaign, with which Lowe’s is no longer partnering under its new policy, criticized this retreat from DEI and pointed to the potential impact on companies’ profits by alienating LGBTQ+ and other consumers.
Orlando Gonzales, HRC's senior vice president of programs, research and training, called these changes “short-sighted decisions contrary to safe and inclusive workplaces” that would create a “snowball effect of long-term negative consequences.” Gonzales also took specific aim at Starbucks – arguing that companies should not “bow to someone with zero experience in the business” and that the worker was fired from the Tennessee Republican Party Because he is “too extreme.”
Starbucks, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday, said last month that its list included companies considered politically mainstream or moderate, including Microsoft. For a company like the coffee chain Starbucks, on the other hand, “it would be harder to put pressure on them to boycott,” he said.
Stark said the outcome of the U.S. election will also “move the thermostat up or down” on the DEI conversation. A second term for former President Donald Trump is likely to increase pressure against DEI policies — many Trump supporters are already signaling they want to see such practices abolished — while his opponent Kamala Harris could have the opposite effect.
For example, some companies are gearing up for potential changes in the terms of their federal contracts, which have historically been a powerful way to promote equality in workplaces. And other companies are trying to change language or find new solutions to existing programs.
“We could potentially see a resurgence of DEI-related efforts or layoffs,” he said. “I think one thing that will happen is that companies will continue to do this work again, either in practice or in name — (but) the extent to which they go public will depend on the landscape.”