Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, rolls back DEI under pressure

[Jessica_Rose]

Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, rolls back DEI under pressure

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/walmart-the-nation-s-largest-private-employer-rolls-back-dei-under-pressure/ar-AA1uKs6f?ocid=windirect&cvid=5ca9a188e9fa47beaa3fdbb8f1af1abe&ei=46

Story by Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY (25 Nov 2024)

The retail giant said it would not renew a racial equity center it created following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and it would no longer participate in an annual benchmark index from LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign.

Robby Starbuck said he warned Walmart last week he was working on a report about "wokeness." According to Starbuck, the company then engaged in "productive conversations" to make changes.

"Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and it sets the tone for corporate America," Starbuck told USA TODAY. "Changing the normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done." 

Walmart also committed to monitoring third-party items in the Walmart marketplace for "inappropriate sexual and/or transgender products marketed to children;" reviewing all Pride funding; and no longer using the term LatinX in official communications, Starbuck said.

Walmart said many of the DEI changes were in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck. For example, Walmart said it already switched its terminology from DEI to belonging and made changes to its supplier diversity program.