HRC criticizes companies for ending DEI programs under right-wing pressure

[Jessica_Rose]

HRC criticizes companies for ending DEI programs under right-wing pressure

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/hrc-criticizes-companies-for-ending-dei-programs-under-right-wing-pressure/ar-AA1q0OrH?ocid=windirect&cvid=45c043f7a39b411195579f1e16e2559e&ei=22

Story by Mira Lazine (4 Sep 2024)

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has criticized companies like Molson Coors, Ford, and others for "abandoning their values and backtracking from commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)" following right-wing pressure campaigns.

The HRC concurrently released new survey data showing that rollbacks on DEI from large corporations in recent years are wildly unpopular with LGBTQ+ individuals and alienating many consumers. This data comes in response to far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Robby Starbuck allegedly causing numerous prominent companies — including Ford, Lowe's, and Harley-Davidson — to significantly scale back their DEI efforts via public pressure campaigns. Starbuck, who reportedly believes that chemicals in tap water are turning kids gay, has over half a million followers on X.

"The LGBTQ+ community is an economic powerhouse, and we want to work for and support companies who support us. Attacks on DEI initiatives are shortsighted and make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans of all demographics and backgrounds," Orlando Gonzales, Senior Vice President of Programs, Research, and Training at the HRC, wrote in an emailed statement. "This new data confirms that companies like Molson Coors, Ford, and others that abandon their values and backtrack from commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion risk losing both top employee talent and consumer dollars."