Target Is Latest Major US Company to Roll Back DEI Programs

The entrance of a Target store in Ellicott City, Md., on March 24, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Target on Friday became the latest major U.S. retailer to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, according to an announcement released by the company.

A fact sheet posted by Target on Jan 24 said it will be concluding its “three-year diversity, equity, and inclusion goals” and ending its “Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025 as planned.”

The company said it is also “stopping all external diversity-focused surveys, including HRC’s Corporate Equality Index,” referring to the LGBT group Human Rights Campaign.

Target will also start reviewing corporate partnerships and ensuring employee resource groups are focused on mentorship and community development.

“These communities will continue to be open to all,” it said.

The Minneapolis-based retailer, which has thousands of stores across the United States, will also change its “supplier diversity team” to “supplier engagement” to better reflect its “global procurement process across a broad range of suppliers,” including increasing its focus on small businesses.

“Throughout 2025, we’ll be accelerating action in key areas and implementing changes with the goal of driving growth and staying in step with the evolving external landscape. We will continue to monitor and adjust as needed,” the company said.

The now-ended program’s goals included hiring and promoting more women and members of racial minority groups as well as using suppliers operated by minorities.

“Many years of data, insights, listening, and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Kiera Fernandez, Target’s executive vice president and chief community impact and equity officer, wrote in a memo. “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.”

Multiple major U.S. corporations in recent months have ended or rolled back DEI policies, including McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, Walmart, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Tractor Supply Co. John Deere, Lowe’s, and others.

Earlier this month, fast-food giant McDonald’s said it would end several DEI initiatives and would instead keep its focus on “continuing to embed inclusion practices” that grow its business into its “everyday process and operations.”

Motorcycle manufacturing company Harley-Davidson wrote on X in August 2024 that it, too, would put an end to its DEI efforts.

“We have not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today,” the company wrote.

In recent years, Target has faced sporadic calls from consumers and social media users to boycott the store because of the company’s decision to promote “Pride Month” merchandise, although the company said last year that it would limit such products. That move occurred in the midst of a months-long boycott against Bud Light, which had used a transgender influencer to promote its products.

While proponents of the DEI organizational framework believe that such policies can reduce discrimination on the basis of identity or disability and provide more representation to different groups, critics such as The Heritage Foundation say it’s a form of Marxist identity politics. There has been surging public backlash against DEI policies in recent years, while the U.S. Supreme Court in July 2023 outlawed affirmative action.

DEI could face even more scrutiny in the near future, as President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders requiring all federal DEI-related employees to be placed on leave and for action to be taken to identify any newly renamed DEI offices.

“These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in shameful discrimination,” said a memo sent by federal officials to employees on Wednesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.