Walmart rolls back DEI programs after right-wing backlash

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN

New York (CNN) — Walmart, the largest private employer in the United States, will curb some diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. It’s the latest company to backtrack on diversity initiatives in the face of right-wing pressure.

The company said Monday it is ending racial equity training programs for staff and evaluating programs designed to increase supplier diversity. Walmart has worked to increase the number of suppliers that are at least 51% owned or managed by a woman, minority, veteran or someone who is LGBTQ in recent years.

The company is also reviewing all funding of Pride and other events and monitoring its online marketplace to remove sexual or transgender products marketed to children. Walmart also said it will not extend its Center for Racial Equity, a five-year, $100 million philanthropic commitment the company made in 2020 to address the root causes of gaps in outcomes of African Americans in education, health, criminal justice and other areas.

“We are willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America,” Walmart said in a statement. “We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging.”

Activist Robby Starbuck, who has led a pressure campaign against businesses for diversity programs, took credit for many of the changes and said he had contacted the company about its policies.

“This is the biggest win yet for our movement,” Starbuck said on social media platform X.

Starbuck, a former Hollywood music video director turned conservative activist, has caught fire campaigning online against major companies’ DEI programs and other progressive initiatives.

Walmart joins Harley-Davidson, Tractor Supply Co., John Deere and other companies in revising or pulling back on their DEI programs, support for Pride marches and LGBTQ events, strategies to slow climate change and other social policies.

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