Walmart rolls back DEI policies, becoming latest US firm to join growing trend
Walmart joins Ford, John Deere, Toyota, other major companies in ditching controversial DEI initiatives
Shareholders at dozens of big companies avoiding DEI, ESG proposals
'The Bottom Line' panelists weigh in as some companies look to distance themselves from politics.
FIRST ON FOX: Walmart is making a slate of changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, becoming the latest in a growing list of major corporations to halt the so-called "woke" initiatives.
Anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck, who has been leading a campaign exposing major corporations' woke policies, said on X on Monday that he warned Walmart executives last week that he would be doing a story on "wokeness" at the retail giant.
"Instead," Starbuck shared, "we had productive conversations to find solutions."
Walmart is the latest major company to roll back its DEI policies following activist pressure. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images/File)
Starbuck outlined the changes Walmart agreed to make, including working to remove sexual and transgender products inappropriately marketed toward children and reviewing grants to Pride events to avoid funding sexualized content targeting kids.
Walmart clarified that these changes have been in the works for a few years and were not a result of the conversation with Starbuck.
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Walmart confirmed to FOX Business that it plans to change how it monitors products within its marketplace and reviews the funding of grants.
The company said some products that violated its policies have been removed, such as chest binders – products designed to flatten the chest – when marketed to children.
The company also confirmed it will review all grants, especially for community events, to ensure they promote an appropriate environment for children. However, Walmart will continue to support Pride celebrations.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 92.64 | +0.14 | +0.15% |
Walmart Inc.
The company has also decided not to extend the Racial Equity Center it launched in 2020 as a five-year initiative and will ditch the terms "LatinX" and even "DEI" altogether in official communications. It will instead focus on the term "belonging" for all associates and customers.
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Walmart also joined an array of companies in recent months – including Ford and John Deere – to end participation in the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which is an annual survey and report used to gauge "policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees."
Walmart confirmed it was notified about the Starbuck video last week. Walmart does not generally comment on politics.
A customer shops at a Walmart store. (REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File)
In a statement to FOX Business, Walmart said it is "willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America."
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"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 company said.
Starbuck is taking a victory lap over Walmart's announced changes, telling FOX Business, "Walmart is the single largest employer in the United States. Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and sets the tone for corporate America."
"Changing normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done," he continued. "It speaks to the strength and scale of our movement to eliminate wokeness from society and how effective I've been as a megaphone for the concerns of your average consumer."
Starbuck added, "I won't stop until wokeness is a relic of the past."