Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has announced it will no longer consider race and gender policies when awarding supplier contracts after facing pressure from conservative activist Robby Starbuck.
The company is rolling back several diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives following criticism that they were harmful to certain groups.
As part of the changes, Walmart is winding down the Center for Racial Equity, a non-profit organisation that received $100 million in funding from the retailer in 2020. The company will also end some racial equity staff training, review its support for Pride events, and withdraw from rankings by the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT advocacy group.
Additionally, Walmart stated it would monitor online merchants for sexual or transgender products marketed to children and remove items deemed inappropriate.
The commitments come after Robby Starbuck, a conservative “anti-woke” activist and former music video director, threatened to mobilise his 700,000 followers on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to boycott Walmart ahead of Black Friday if changes were not made. In a post on X, Starbuck said: “I’m happy to have secured these changes before Christmas when shoppers have very few large retail brands they can spend money with who aren’t pushing woke policies.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, who has been a vocal critic of DEI policies, amplified the news by reposting an article about Walmart’s decision, commenting: “The tide has turned.”
Walmart, which employs 2.1 million people and has a market valuation of about $740 billion, claimed it was already reviewing some of its DEI policies prior to conversations with Starbuck. The company stated: “We are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”
John Furner, president and chief executive of Walmart US, addressed the policy changes during an interview with CBS News, saying: “Like many companies all across the United States, we’ve been on a journey and we continue to be on a journey. And what we’re trying to do is ensure that every customer, every associate, feels welcome here to shop, and to feel like they belong.”
In October, Walmart reported that in the past financial year it sourced more than $13 billion in goods and services from diverse suppliers, including companies owned or operated by veterans, people with disabilities, members of the LGBT community, women, and people of colour. The retailer’s latest culture and diversity report indicated that people of colour represented about 51% of its total US workforce, with 59% of new hires being people of colour and 49% being women.
The company’s decision has sparked mixed reactions. While conservative activists like Starbuck applaud the move towards “corporate neutrality,” others have criticised Walmart for potentially undermining efforts towards diversity and inclusion. Users of Bluesky, a social media platform rivaling X, described Walmart as “disgusting” and “cowards” following the announcement.
Walmart now faces the challenge of balancing the demands of different stakeholder groups, as it risks losing customers who support DEI initiatives while trying to appease those who oppose them.