Target joins brands cutting diversity efforts as critics mount pressure

Target, like other notable companies, is retracting diversity programs due to criticism and pressure from conservative groups and the White House.

In response to conservative backlash and recent scrutiny from the White House, Target announced on Friday its decision to emulate Walmart and other major American brands by reducing its efforts in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As part of its revised “Belonging at the Bulleye” approach, the Minneapolis-headquartered retailer will discontinue initiatives intended to support career development for Black employees, enhance the shopping experience for Black customers, and bolster Black-owned businesses, all of which were established in the aftermath of George Floyd’s tragic death in 2020.

Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it also would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, goals it previously set in three-year cycles.

The goals included hiring and promoting more women and members of racial minority groups, and recruiting more diverse suppliers, including businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities.

In a memo to employees, Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, as a “next chapter” in a decades-long process to create “inclusive work and guest environments that welcome all.”

“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Fernandez wrote in the memo, which Target shared Friday. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.”

There’s no doubt the U.S. civil rights landscape has undergone a massive transformation in the five years since much of corporate America adopted DEI goals in response to the Black Lives Matter protests that followed Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

A 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision that outlawed affirmative action in college admissions emboldened conservative groups to bring or threaten lawsuits targeting corporate initiatives such as employee resource groups and hiring practices that prioritize historically marginalized groups.

Walmart, McDonald’s , Ford, Harley-Davison and John Deere are among the well-known consumer brands that reduced or phased out their DEI commitments in recent months.

President Donald Trump this week signaled his administration’s agreement with conservatives who argue that policies designed to increase minority representation by considering factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unconstitutional.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI programs across the federal government. The order calls for revoking all DEI mandates, policies, preferences and activities, along with the review and revision of existing employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs.

Unlike some of the companies retooling or retiring their diversity initiatives, Target’s work to build a more inclusive workforce predated 2020, and the company also was long seen as a trailblazer with respect to LGBTQ+ inclusion.

But the employee memo shared Friday said Target no longer would participate in surveys designed to gauge the effectiveness of its actions, including an annual index compiled by the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ+ rights organization. Target said it would further evaluate corporate partnerships to ensure they’re connected directly to business objectives, but declined to share details.

Getting corporations to withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index and to stop sponsoring Pride activities have been goals of DEI opponents.

Steering clear of a backlash from conservative customers and organizations is something that Target has tried to navigate for a while. As transgender rights became a more prominent issue in 2016, the company declared that “inclusivity is a core belief at Target” and said it supported transgender employees and customers using whichever restroom or fitting room “corresponds with their gender identity.”

But after some customers threatened to boycott Target stores, the company said that more stores would make available a single-toilet bathroom with a door that could be locked.

In 2023, Target removed some of its Pride Month merchandise after online complaints and in-store confrontations that the retailer said threatened employees’ well-being. The company decided last year not to stock Pride Month products at every U.S. store.

Still, some prominent companies have resisted public pressure to retreat from their diversity plans. On Thursday, Costco shareholders rejected a proposal urging the wholesale club operator to evaluate any risks posed by its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

According to preliminary results shared by Costco executives, more than 98% of shares voted against the proposal submitted by a conservative think tank based in Washington. Costco’s board of directors had recommended a no vote.

You May Also Like

Recap of the recent air tragedy in Washington, the worst in the US since 2001

It has been over two weeks since a tragic incident occurred when…

Man sentenced to life in prison for drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of a 16-year-old in Flagler County

FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – Recently, a man was given a life sentence…

Police are investigating after a young girl from Akron was hurt by a razor blade found inside a Valentine’s Day card.

Kaliauna Wright was presented with the card at a celebration held at…

Anxious immigrants seek Florida advocate to sign papers for child care arrangements

In Homestead, Fla., a dozen immigrant families gathered at Nora Sandigo’s ranch…

The White House Posts Valentine’s Day Meme about Deportations

A valentine shared by the Trump administration featured a poem centered on…

Commemorating ‘SNL’ Cleveland ties after 50 years

SNL’s success may have been possible without contributions from Northeast Ohio, but…

Could DeSantis Successfully Eliminate Florida Property Taxes?

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared to put the state’s…

“Eastern U.S. Prepares for Flooding as California City, Recently Hit by Fires, Now at Risk of Mudslides”

Some states like Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Arkansas were issued flood…

Officials report that the National Flood Insurance Program funds were drained due to flooding caused by hurricanes in 2024

In Tallahassee, Florida, – Following the impact of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane…

Cleveland Browns Advocate for Federal Judge to Declare ‘Modell Law’ Unconstitutional

Accident in Pasco County: Lakeland Man Dies and 3 Injured

A Lakeland man lost his life in a tragic head-on collision in…

Newest updates from the Middle East: 3 Israelis captured and more than 300 Palestinian inmates to be traded

Three Israeli men who were held captive in the Gaza Strip are…