Several of America’s biggest brands backpedaled on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs in 2024 amid intense public scrutiny and fierce consumer backlash.
The Biden-Harris administration has led a massive push for increased DEI initiatives in the government, including President Joe Biden signing an executive order in June 2021 that established “a government-wide initiative to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” in the federal workforce. Some major companies have begun scaling back on DEI practices this year amid growing backlash, including Walmart, Boeing, Lowe’s and Ford Motors.
“American corporations realized that DEI was a loser for them in terms of doing business,” Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “American people began to register their disapproval with DEI and began to see through it pretty much after 2020.”
Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, began scaling back on some of its DEI-related policies in November, including announcing it would not renew a five-year commitment for a racial equity center and would withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign’s equality index measuring workplace “inclusion.” The retailer will also stop using the terms “LatinX” and “DEI” in official communications, according to The Independent.
Walmart is not the only company that has recently rolled back its DEI policies — In August, major home improvement chain Lowe’s decided to dial back on some of its DEI initiatives. Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist who has been a vocal critic of various companies’ DEI practices, said in a post on X that he had messaged Lowe’s executives ahead of the company’s decision to roll back some of the DEI policies, saying that he had planned to “expose their woke policies.”
Ford Motors announced in August it would scale back its diversity policies, including vowing to stop participating in “external culture surveys.” Automakers such as Ford have faced challenges in the electric vehicle (EV) market amid lackluster consumer demand. Ford reported a $1.3 billion loss on its EV line in the first quarter. The automaker announced in August that it was canceling plans to build a three-row electric SUV and also pushed back its plans to release an electric pickup truck model until 2027.
Top airline manufacturer Boeing axed its DEI entire division in October amid union strikes, significant financial losses and scrutiny over various safety issues. One of the company’s highly-scrutinized safety issues was a door plug being ripped off on a 737 Max 9 aircraft during an Alaska Airlines flight in January that led to a federal investigation.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced plans in October to slash the company’s workforce by 10% amid the company’s various financial and operational challenges. Following Boeing’s decision, one insider told City Journal in November that “when you start to focus on delivering value instead of preserving status, it becomes obvious what drives value, and it’s not DEI.”
“There’s nothing wrong with the term ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ if it’s meant traditionally,” Gonzalez told the DCNF. “But what the woke ideology does is it kind of reverses it and it changes the meaning of the word. So, inclusion actually means exclusion, diversity means racial quotas which are illegal and unconstitutional, and equity means the opposite of racial equality. So the American people saw through that and began to oppose it, and corporations in 2024 began to walk away from all DEI initiatives.”
“Practically the only entity that continued to embrace DEI is the Biden administration, which committed itself in the very beginning from the first executive order,” Gonzalez added.
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House next year could impact DEI initiatives across the country, as he has criticized DEI practices and promised to uproot “woke” ideology. In November, dozens of investment advisors sent letters warning several of America’s largest companies that their diversity programs will become a liability when Trump returns to the Oval Office.
“I think that it is critical to point out how it is the actual nature and substance of DEI once it is exposed to sunlight that has forced these companies to retreat,” Stefan Padfield, executive director of the National Center’s Free Enterprise Project, told the DCNF.
Target has faced intense backlash for supporting LGBTQ initiatives in recent years. The retailer announced in May that it would only sell its LGBTQ “Pride” collection online and at select stores after backlash over the collection in 2023. Boycotts over LGBTQ-themed merchandise cost Target nearly $13 billion in market value the summer prior, according to Bloomberg.
Some activist investors have criticized Target for its “woke” policies, Fox Business reported. The retailer’s stock prices also dropped in 2016 amid boycotts after it introduced a policy allowing customers to choose the dressing room or restroom that aligned with their gender identity.
Bud Light’s pours reportedly declined in thousands of bars and restaurants across the U.S. after the brand partnered with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney in 2023. The company lost $1.4 billion in U.S. beer sales in 2023 due to boycotts over the marketing decision, according to Forbes.
“We are starting to see not only in the customer backlash to the actual substance of these [DEI] programs, but also in the market reactions how costly this stuff is — how pernicious, value-destroying and costly it is,” Padfield told the DCNF.
Some universities have also begun scaling back their DEI requirements this year, including the University of Michigan, which announced on Dec. 5 that it will abandon diversity statements for hiring, promotion and tenure decisions following an apparent push from faculty. Trump previously introduced plans pledging to “save” education from “radical left maniacs.”
Target, Boeing, Ford, Lowe’s and Walmart did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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