Walmart says it will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, will make changes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, and will monitor its marketplace to ensure “inappropriate sexual and/or transgender products” are not marketed to children, USA Today reports.
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Walmart confirmed changes to its policies in a statement provided to the media, and conservative activist Robby Starbuck claimed responsibility for the changes in a post to social media.
“Our purpose, to help people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today. We can deliver on it because we are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America,” Walmart said in a statement. “We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone.”
Related: Major companies are ending DEI programs. Here's how an LGBTQ+ group is taking them to task
In addition to backing out of the HRC Consumer Equality Index, Walmart also will reportedly conduct a wide-ranging review of its products, internal policies, and funding of Pride events and causes to ensure children are not exposed to what Starbuck called “inappropriate sexualized content targeting kids.” Walmart will also reportedly end all DEI programs and policies, monitor suppliers for policies that unfairly benefit certain groups “based on diversity,” and no longer use the term LatinX in its communications.
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Starbuck says he had been working on a lengthy investigation of the retailer’s policies, when he was contacted by Walmart.
“Walmart became aware of our investigation and reached out to me,” Starbuck says in a video post to social media, resulting in “frank conversations” with the nation’s largest employer.
In response to a request for comment from Walmart, the company sent the same statement as it sent others. The company did not respond to questions asking if Walmart had consulted with LGBTQ+ rights groups or other civil rights groups before its decisions about DEI and Pride funding were made.
Related: Companies dropping DEI will face consequences — 80% of LGBTQ+ adults support boycotts: report
After home improvement retailer Lowe’s announced it was canceling its DEI initiatives in August, Orlando Gonzales, HRC’s Senior Vice President of Programs, Research, and Training, pointed out for The Advocate that Starbuck was too “radical” for his party.
“Robby Starbuck is so radical the Tennessee Republican party kicked him off the ballot. Companies should not cower to a random guy with zero business experience, who is so extreme he has been abandoned by the Republican party,” Gonzales told The Advocate. “Hasty, shortsighted decisions contrary to safe and inclusive workplaces will create a snowball effect of negative long-term consequences for companies, cutting them off from top talent, turning off LGBTQ+ and other consumers, and impacting companies' bottom line.”
In recent months, major U.S. businesses have announced they were ending their DEI programs, including Ford Motor Company, Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Lowe’s, and Tractor Supply, among others.
Alex Cooper contributed reporting.
This article was updated with a response from Walmart.
