Target became the latest U.S. company to reveal it would scale back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on Friday in the wake of scrutiny toward such policies from conservative groups and the Trump administration.
The Minneapolis-based retailer said the changes to its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy would include ending a program it established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, explained it already had planned to end the racial program this year. The company 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.
Target has long been a fierce corporate advocate for the rights of Black and LGBTQ+ people. In a memo to employees, Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, described the DEI decisions as a “next chapter” in the company’s decades-long process to create “inclusive work and guest environments that welcome all.”
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.
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.
Apple’s board and the CEO of JPMorgan bank also have expressed a commitment to preserving their companies’ DEI activities.
