Target announced on Friday that it is making changes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. This includes programs aimed at aligning its workforce and products more closely with the diversity of its customer base.
The Minneapolis-based retailer informed its employees through a memo that it will discontinue its three-year diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. Additionally, it will no longer submit reports to external diversity-focused organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. The company will also end a specific program that focused on increasing the availability of products from Black or minority-owned businesses.
The memo was sent to staff Friday and viewed by CNBC. It was written by Kiera Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at Target.
In the memo, a Target representative stated, “Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have influenced our decision for the next phase of our strategy. As a retailer that caters to millions of customers daily, we recognize the importance of adapting to the changing external environment to drive Target’s progress and success moving forward.”
A Target spokesperson said there are no job cuts as part of Friday’s DEI announcement.
With the move, the discounter joins a growing list of companies including Tractor Supply, Facebook’s parent Meta, Walmart and McDonald’s that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals. Some of those companies faced pressure from conservative activists or cited the Supreme Court’s ruling blocking affirmative action at colleges — which may not compel corporations to take any action on the issue.
The company’s decision also follows President Donald Trump’s executive orders, made almost immediately after his Inauguration, to end the government’s DEI programs and put federal officials overseeing those initiatives on leave.
Not all companies have joined the trend. On Thursday, Costco said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review risks of its DEI programs. Costco’s board of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.
Many corporations’ diversity commitments, including Target’s go back for years and were strengthened in the wake of the “Black Lives Matter” protests and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
Four years ago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the murder — which happened just a short distance from Target’s headquarters in its hometown — felt personal. He said it motivated him to step up Target’s diversity and equity efforts.
“That could have been one of my Target team members,” he said at the time, recounting his thoughts as he watched the video of Floyd taking his final breaths.
Target expanded its diversity goals at the time, saying it would increase representation of Black employees across its workforce by 20% over the next year. The company started a new program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test and scale products to sell at mass retailers like Target. And it promised to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, from construction companies that build or remodel stores to advertising firms that market its brand.
The company and its foundation also gave $10 million to support social justice groups, including the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum.
On its website in recent years, Target has touted Cornell’s and the company’s “steadfast commitment to stand with Black families and fight against racism.” In other posts on its website, the company provided updates on its efforts to add more officers of color, reduce turnover of people of color, and increase promotions of women and minorities.
One post was titled “We Are Never Done,” and started off with a quote from Black poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.
Target dissolved the goals at a time when conservative politicians and activists have increasingly turned their focus on company efforts to be more inclusive.
Target had already felt the heat from conservative groups over some of its other longstanding initiatives. About two years ago, the retailer pulled items from its Pride Month collection after backlash and threats to employees about some merchandise it sold, such as “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for trans people.
Cornell said in 2023 that the backlash contributed to weaker quarterly sales for the company. He said, however, that it would continue to mark heritage months with merchandise collections, such as Black History Month and Pride Month.
Target’s employee base had grown more diverse in recent years.
About 43% of Target’s workforce was white, 31% was Hispanic/Latino, 15% was Black and 5% was Asian in the fiscal year that ended in early February 2024, according to the company’s most recent diversity report.
The company’s leadership team is less diverse than its overall workforce. Seventy-two percent of the leadership was white, followed by 11% Hispanic/Latino, 11% Asian and 6% Black.
