Walmart Pulls Back from Diversity Policies in Latest Corporate Abandonment of DEI

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Walmart on Monday announced it would pull back from its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, becoming the latest in corporate America’s retreat from “woke” corporate policies.

Walmart said it would remove sexual and transgender products that were reportedly marketed toward children and will review grants to LGBTQI+ events to avoid funding sexualized content targeting children. Walmart said it plans to continue supporting Pride parades.

The retail giant will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index.

The retailer said that it had been working on these changes for years and that they were not the result of a conversation with conservative anti-DEI activist Robby Starbucks.

Walmart said some of its products that violated its policies have been removed, which includes chest binders — products meant to flatten the chest — when marketed to children. The corporation decided not to continue the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative, and will no longer use terms such as “LatinX,” or “DEI” in corporate communications. Walmart communications will instead focus on using terms such as “belonging” for all associates and customers.

Walmart told Fox Business that it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

“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,” the company’s statement continued.

This is the latest corporate retreat from politicized corporate policies.

In October, Toyota announced it would no longer sponsor LGBTQ parades and events and will no longer make efforts to promote DEI.

The automaker will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and other corporate surveys.

Many other major corporations, including Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Ford Motor Co., Tractor Supply, and Jack Daniel’s, have also left the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

Alfredo Ortiz, the CEO of the Jobs Creators Network, said in a statement on Tuesday:

The defeat of woke capitalism shows the power that conservative groups have when we work together with a single voice. Walmart’s elimination of DEI is a stunning reversal from a couple of years ago when seemingly every corporation was putting its woke political interests above its business, threatening its shareholders and employees. Conservative groups should take this playbook that defeated woke capitalism and use it to achieve other policy wins.

Many of America’s largest corporations have abandoned DEI and other “woke” policies as Americans have increasingly rejected politicized corporate agendas.

A Pew Research study found that the share of American workers who believe DEI is a “good thing” has dropped since last year. Another Pew Research survey found that 36 percent of Americans believe DEI hurts white men.

Similar polling has revealed that Americans are increasingly shunning corporations that have a political bent.

A Rasmussen poll found in July that 48 percent of Americans believe that DEI programs discriminate against white men, and a Gallup survey revealed in August that Americans have become increasingly tired of corporations that weigh in on current events in politics.

Daniel Cameron, the former Kentucky attorney general and CEO of the 1792 Exchange, said that Breitbart News Daily listeners are “paying attention” and, thanks to some “brave and courageous” CEOs, “We’re going to get our CEOs back in neutral.”