Target\u00a0on Friday said it\u2019s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs \u2014 including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers.<\/p>\n
In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign\u2019s Corporate Equality Index and end a program focused on carrying more products from Black- or minority-owned businesses.<\/p>\n
The memo was sent to staff Friday and viewed by CNBC. It was written by Kiera\u00a0Fernandez, chief community impact and equity officer at\u00a0Target.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,\u201d she said in the memo. \u201cAnd 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 \u2014 all in service of driving Target\u2019s growth and winning together.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Target spokesperson said there are no job cuts as part of Friday\u2019s DEI announcement.<\/p>\n
With the move, the discounter joins a growing list of companies including\u00a0Tractor Supply, Facebook\u2019s parent\u00a0Meta,\u00a0Walmart\u00a0and\u00a0McDonald\u2019s\u00a0that have dropped DEI-related pledges and goals. Some of those companies faced pressure from conservative activists or cited the Supreme Court\u2019s ruling blocking affirmative action at colleges \u2014 which may not compel corporations to take any action on the issue.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s decision also follows President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s executive orders, made almost immediately after his Inauguration, to\u00a0end the government\u2019s DEI programs\u00a0and put federal officials overseeing those initiatives on leave.<\/p>\n
Not all companies have joined the trend. On Thursday,\u00a0Costco\u00a0said at its annual meeting that more than 98% of shareholders voted against a proposal to review risks of its DEI programs. Costco\u2019s board of director had urged shareholders to vote it down.<\/p>\n
Many corporations\u2019 diversity commitments, including Target\u2019s go back for years and were strengthened in the wake of the \u201cBlack Lives Matter\u201d protests and the murder of George Floyd in 2020.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the murder \u2014 which happened just a short distance from Target\u2019s headquarters in its hometown \u2014 felt personal. He said it motivated him to step up Target\u2019s diversity and equity efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat could have been one of my Target team members,\u201d he said at the time, recounting his thoughts as he watched the video of Floyd taking his final breaths.<\/p>\n
Target expanded its diversity goals at the time, saying it\u00a0would increase representation of Black employees\u00a0across its workforce by 20% over the next year. The company started a new program to help Black entrepreneurs develop, test and scale products to sell at mass retailers like Target. And it promised to\u00a0spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, from construction companies that build or remodel stores to advertising firms that market its brand.<\/p>\n
The company and its foundation also\u00a0gave $10 million\u00a0to support social justice groups, including the National Urban League and African American Leadership Forum.<\/p>\n
On its website in recent years, Target has\u00a0touted Cornell\u2019s and the company\u2019s\u00a0\u201csteadfast commitment to stand with Black families and fight against racism.\u201d In other posts on its website, the company provided updates on its efforts to add more officers of color, reduce turnover of people of color, and increase promotions of women and minorities.<\/p>\n
One post was titled\u00a0\u201cWe Are Never Done,\u201d\u00a0and started off with a quote from Black poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou.<\/p>\n
Target dissolved the goals at a time when conservative politicians and activists have increasingly turned their focus on company efforts to be more inclusive.<\/p>\n
Target had already felt the heat from conservative groups over some of its other longstanding initiatives. About two years ago, the retailer\u00a0pulled items\u00a0from its Pride Month collection after backlash and threats to employees about some merchandise it sold, such as \u201ctuck-friendly\u201d swimsuits for trans people.<\/p>\n
Cornell said in 2023 that the backlash\u00a0contributed to weaker quarterly sales\u00a0for the company. He said, however, that it would continue to mark heritage months with merchandise collections, such as Black History Month and Pride Month.<\/p>\n
Target\u2019s employee base had grown more diverse in recent years.<\/p>\n
About 43% of Target\u2019s workforce was white, 31% was Hispanic\/Latino, 15% was Black and 5% was Asian in the fiscal year that ended in early February 2024, according to the company\u2019s most recent diversity report.<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s leadership team is less diverse than its overall workforce. Seventy-two percent of the leadership was white, followed by 11% Hispanic\/Latino, 11% Asian and 6% Black.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Target\u00a0on Friday said it\u2019s rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion programs \u2014 including some that aim to make its workforce and merchandise better reflect its customers. In a memo sent to its employees, the Minneapolis-based retailer said it will end its three-year DEI goals, stop reports to external diversity-focused groups like the Human Rights Campaign\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":14325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}