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Walmart has become the latest and one of the biggest US companies to make significant changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies after being threatened with a conservative boycott against the so-called 'woke' initiatives ahead of the Black Friday sale period.
This came after Robby Starbuck, an anti-woke activist and filmmaker, on Monday said he warned the executive at the US retail giant last week that he would be doing a story on ‘wokeness’ at the company.
“Instead we had productive conversations to find solutions,” Starbuck wrote.
He later outlined the changes the company agreed to. Among these include removing sexual and transgender products that were being inappropriately marketed toward children, besides a review of grants to Pride events to avoid funding sexualised content that targets children.
Walmart clarified the changes had been in the works for a few years now and not a result of the conversation with Starbuck, Fox Business reported.
It stated that it will not extend the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative, besides announcing its plan to ditch terms like ‘LatinX’ and even ‘DEI’ in its official communications.
“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, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the reported quoted Walmart as saying.
Who is Robby Starbuck?
The 35-year-old, whose legal name is Robert Starbuck, resides outside of Nashville with his family, including his wife Landon and their three children. Landon has been a leading advocate in Tennessee for right-wing causes including a ban on transgender-affirming medical care for minors as well as drag shows with children present, CNN reported.
Robby Starbuck has more than seven lakh followers on X, while his posts and videos on companies have been amplified by several prominent figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Earlier, he has worked towards changing corporate policy at several big corporates like Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle, Lowe’s, Ford, Coors, Stanley Black & Decker, Jack Daniels, DeWalt tools, Craftsman, Caterpillar, Boeing and Toyota.
What is DEI Policy?
Although the backlash against this policy might seem like a pendulum swing from 2020, the practice has been there for decades now.
In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police sparked racial reckoning leading to a renewed push to create DEI leadership roles and initiatives at major corporations.
According to experts, the ‘Diversity’ in DEI refers to the representation of people across varied backgrounds, especially those from different races, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, religions and more, ABC reported.
‘Equity’ is aimed at fairness and justice, referred to as compensation, besides ensuring that people are getting paid or treated fairly. Meanwhile, ‘Inclusion’ is about whether people feel like they are being heard or valued at their respective organisations.
HRC analysis
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the data from its 2024 LGBTQ+ Climate Survey indicates that LGBTQ+ workers and consumers prioritise how companies show up for them while deciding where they will work and spend their money.
Data showed that 8 in 10 (80.1%) LGBTQ+ adults have stated that they will boycott a company that rolled back its DEI initiatives, while over three-quarters (75.7%) said they would have a less favourable opinion about such businesses.
This came after Robby Starbuck, an anti-woke activist and filmmaker, on Monday said he warned the executive at the US retail giant last week that he would be doing a story on ‘wokeness’ at the company.
“Instead we had productive conversations to find solutions,” Starbuck wrote.
He later outlined the changes the company agreed to. Among these include removing sexual and transgender products that were being inappropriately marketed toward children, besides a review of grants to Pride events to avoid funding sexualised content that targets children.
MASSIVE news: Walmart is ending their woke policies. I can now exclusively tell you what’s changing and how it happened.
Last week I told execs at @Walmart that I was doing a story on wokeness there. Instead we had productive conversations to find solutions.
Below are the… pic.twitter.com/BD02xJQ0X2
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) November 25, 2024
Walmart clarified the changes had been in the works for a few years now and not a result of the conversation with Starbuck, Fox Business reported.
It stated that it will not extend the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative, besides announcing its plan to ditch terms like ‘LatinX’ and even ‘DEI’ in its official communications.
“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, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the reported quoted Walmart as saying.
Who is Robby Starbuck?
The 35-year-old, whose legal name is Robert Starbuck, resides outside of Nashville with his family, including his wife Landon and their three children. Landon has been a leading advocate in Tennessee for right-wing causes including a ban on transgender-affirming medical care for minors as well as drag shows with children present, CNN reported.
Robby Starbuck has more than seven lakh followers on X, while his posts and videos on companies have been amplified by several prominent figures like Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Earlier, he has worked towards changing corporate policy at several big corporates like Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle, Lowe’s, Ford, Coors, Stanley Black & Decker, Jack Daniels, DeWalt tools, Craftsman, Caterpillar, Boeing and Toyota.
What is DEI Policy?
Although the backlash against this policy might seem like a pendulum swing from 2020, the practice has been there for decades now.
In May 2020, the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis Police sparked racial reckoning leading to a renewed push to create DEI leadership roles and initiatives at major corporations.
According to experts, the ‘Diversity’ in DEI refers to the representation of people across varied backgrounds, especially those from different races, genders, sexual orientations, disabilities, religions and more, ABC reported.
‘Equity’ is aimed at fairness and justice, referred to as compensation, besides ensuring that people are getting paid or treated fairly. Meanwhile, ‘Inclusion’ is about whether people feel like they are being heard or valued at their respective organisations.
HRC analysis
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the data from its 2024 LGBTQ+ Climate Survey indicates that LGBTQ+ workers and consumers prioritise how companies show up for them while deciding where they will work and spend their money.
Data showed that 8 in 10 (80.1%) LGBTQ+ adults have stated that they will boycott a company that rolled back its DEI initiatives, while over three-quarters (75.7%) said they would have a less favourable opinion about such businesses.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
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