Lowe’s Drops Some DEI Policies As Activist Claims Another Victory

Lowe’s Cos. is scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the latest U.S. company to end such initiatives following a series of activist attacks on firms that promote EDI.

The home improvement retailer will no longer participate in surveys for LGBTQ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign and will also combine its various business resource groups that represent diverse employees into one umbrella organization, a said in an internal memo.

It will also focus on sponsoring events related to safe and affordable housing, disaster relief and vocational education and will not participate in community events outside of that role, according to the memo, which was seen by Bloomberg News and confirmed by Lowe’s . spokesman.

American corporations have faced pressure to scale back the programs they have adopted following the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a white police officer and a racial reckoning. A Supreme Court decision last year banning affirmative action at universities has emboldened opponents of DEI programs, reinvigorating legal activists including Edward Blum and former Donald Trump staffer Stephen Miller, who have filed lawsuits and sent complaints to the US government in relation to corporate employment, which they say. it unfairly favors non-white workers.

Robby Starbuck, whose calls to boycott several firms that promote DEI have led to those companies reducing or eliminating diversity programs, claims credit for Lowe’s move. The company changed its DEI policy after Starbuck contacted the firm last week, he told X.

Lowe’s spokesman Steve Salazar said Starbuck reached out after the company had already begun making changes to its DEI program.

Lowe’s had eight business resource groups as of 2021, according to its most recent diversity report. These include Black, Latino, Asian Pacific, LGBTQ, and associated women’s groups. The report also says it was voted “the best place to work for LGBTQ equality” by the Human Rights Campaign and has seen an 11 percent increase in the number of people of color among its domestic officers.

Tractor Supply Co., Deere & Co. and Harley-Davidson Inc. all said they would significantly curtail DEI’s activities after Starbuck began campaigning against them in recent months. Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman Co. also told staff last week it was ending DEI programs. Starbuck said he was getting ready to go after the company.

Photo: Photographer: Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg

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