Walmart to phase out DEI initiatives amid rising attacks from conservatives | Walmart

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, will phase out several diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in its workplaces as far-right conservatives continue to target such programs.

Among the sweeping changes is that the company will no longer consider race and gender as a way to improve diversity when making offers to its suppliers, multiple outlets reported.

“Our purpose of helping people save money and live better lives has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can achieve this because we are willing to transform alongside our employees and customers who represent all of America. “We have been on a journey and know we are not perfect, but every decision is based on the desire to foster a sense of belonging, open doors for all of our employees, customers and suppliers, and be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said in a statement to the Guardian.

Walmart will no longer offer DEI training through the Racial Equity Institute, a consulting firm that specializes in improving corporate diversity and equity, The Washington Post reported.

The company Nor will Walmart renew a Center for Racial Justice, which it created as part of a five-year commitment to “address the root causes of the gaps in outcomes experienced by Black and African American people in the education, health, financial and criminal justice systems,” according to Walmart. . Website.

According to CNBC, the multinational will also remove LGBTQ+ merchandise from its stores.

The decision to end DEI efforts at Walmart was first announced by conservative pundit Robby Starbuck, who continued to attack DEI efforts as part of an ongoing campaign.

Starbuck claimed in a post to X that “Walmart is ending its vigilance policy.”

“Last week I told (Walmart) executives that I was writing a story there about vigilance. Instead, we had productive conversations to find solutions,” Starbuck said, before listing several of the DEI initiatives that Walmart is ending.

Walmart, which employs about 1.6 million U.S. workers, is just the latest company to halt its DEI programs in recent months. Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and Ford Motor Company have all scaled back their DEI programs.

DEI programs have long been under scrutiny, but conservatives have intensified attacks on such initiatives following Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 US presidential election.

Companies have also increasingly scaled back their diversity initiatives since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action for college admissions in June 2023, a major setback for inclusion efforts.