Target Ends DEI Initiatives, Becoming Latest Company to Bow to the Right's Moral Panic
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Target is the latest corporation to cave to conservative pressure and scale back its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) programs aimed at benefiting marginalized communities.
On January 24, the Minneapolis-based retailer announced via a fact sheet that it would conclude 'our three diversity, equity, and inclusion' goals; shift its 'Supplier Diversity' team to a 'Supplier Engagement' team; and end all external diversity-focused surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking tool that measures benefits, practices, and policies pertaining to LGBTQ+ employees.
Additionally, Target stated that the company would conclude its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025, 'as planned.' These initiatives, which were introduced in 2020, included pledges to source and design 'significantly more products' from Black creators and institute anti-racism training and education for all employees.
'Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,' Target's chief community impact and equity officer Kiera Fernandez said in a memo to staff, per CBS News. 'And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.'
Target joins at least 12 major corporations that have announced rollbacks to DEI programs aimed at communities of color and the LGBTQ+ community, including Amazon, McDonald's, and Walmart. These changes follow a series of right-wing anti-DEI campaigns that have gained notoriety in recent years, aided by propagandists like Chris Rufo, who engineered the anti-LGBTQ+ 'grooming' panic; and Robbie Starbuck, who rose to prominence as an anti-mask advocate in 2020 and later allegedly deceived drag performers into appearing in the 2023 anti-trans documentary The War on Children.
Starbuck took credit for Target's policy changes in a January 24 X post, claiming that the company did so after finding out that Starbuck was 'doing a story on wokeness there.'
President Donald Trump has also prioritized dismantling DEI during his second presidential administration, issuing an executive order to 'revoke federal DEI requirements' shortly after taking office on January 20. Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Trump's 'Department of Government Efficiency' (DOGE) — a presidential advisory commission led by Elon Musk — is considering cutting over $120 billion in annual DEI spending.
As for Target, the company has a history of wavering on its commitments to LGBTQ+ in the face of conservative pushback. In 2016, Target stated that trans employees and customers could use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity, becoming one of the first major retailers to speak out amid national debates over trans bathroom accessibility. However, after some customers threatened to boycott Target in response, the company announced it would spend $20 million to add single-toilet bathrooms with lockable doors to more stores. In 2023, Target removed some of its Pride merchandise due to right-wing backlash and threats of violence toward employees. The following year, the retailer opted not to stock Pride-themed items at half of its 1,956 U.S. stores.
Target has already faced plenty of public backlash for its decision to scale back its DEI initiatives, perhaps most notably from the Twin Cities Pride festival, which operates in the same city where the company is headquartered. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Target has historically been a major donor to Twin Cities Pride, donating between $50,000 and $70,000 to the organization each year.
In a January 26 Instagram post, Twin Cities Pride announced that it had made the decision to part ways with Target as a sponsor, 'standing firm in our commitment to LGBTQIA+ inclusion and equity.'
'In a time where it's been a really, really rough week for our community given everything that has come down from the new administration, this was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back,' Twin Cities Pride Executive Director Andi Otto told the Star Tribune during a January 26 interview. '[...] Our community does not want to see someone who has rolled back [DEI] policies in a place where they want to celebrate and feel empowered.'
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