Deere’s changes reflect growing pressure companies are facing from both outside critics and U.S. courts to scale back or eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts amid a wave of lawsuits challenging the policies of a number of companies, including major companies such as Starbucks, Meth and Pfizer.
This is another high-profile example of a company’s stance on social issues creating tension with customers. Deere and Tractor Supply’s changes come just a year after Bud Light was boycotted over its partnership with transgender influencer and actress Dylan Mulvaney. Target also dealt with boycotts and in-store confrontations over Pride Month merchandise last year, leading it to pull collections from stores and remove some products entirely.
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Deere did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company hasn’t completely rejected DEI. In a statement on Tuesday, Deere said: The company says it “continuously tracks and promotes diversity in our organization” so it can meet the needs of its customers, and its website still touts “our inclusive culture.”
Deere’s shakeup comes after public pressure from conservative podcast host Robbie Starbuck, who orchestrated a boycott of Tractor Supply Co. late last month over its diversity policies.
Tractor Supply responded by cutting diversity positions, halting data submissions to the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, and announcing it would stop sponsoring Pride festivals and ballot initiatives, moves that drew congratulations and criticism from conservative activists. others, These include a New York animal shelter, an LGBTQ+ organization and an association dedicated to supporting Black farmers.
John Boyd Jr., founder of the National Black Farmers Association, told The Washington Post on Wednesday that the association will boycott Deere and call for the resignation of its CEO, John C. May, a move it made in response to Tractor Supply Co.’s withdrawal.
“We will continue to see more companies downplaying diversity goals and scaling back DEI programs designed to advance marginalized groups,” Boyd said in an emailed statement.
In early July, Starbuck posted a video criticizing a series of DEI initiatives at Deere, including the creation of an “LGBTQ and race-based” employee resource group and employee training that includes anti-racism teachings from authors like Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi. After Deere’s announcement, Starbuck posted to X that the changes weren’t enough. Starbuck said he wants the company to end DEI “completely” and stop participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, adding that he will continue to oppose corporate DEI efforts.
“DEI is poison and we will not rest until the public sees how corporations are straying from American values,” Starbuck wrote.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment.
In an emailed statement to The Washington Post, Eric Bloom, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, called Deere’s DEI moves “disappointing,” but he attributed the company’s changes to “a coordinated attack on American companies by far-right extremists.”
“Any decision to cut DEI initiatives risks alienating customers and employees in order to appease extremists who care about neither,” Bloom said, adding that “any decision to abandon the values of diversity and inclusion is harmful to any company’s bottom line and to the American economy broadly.”
The decision came one month after Deere reached an agreement with the Department of Labor to resolve charges of “systematic hiring discrimination against black and Hispanic applicants” at its manufacturing facilities in Iowa and Illinois. The company, which works as a contractor for federal agencies, agreed to pay more than $1 million in back wages and interest to affected job applicants and offer dozens of jobs to qualified candidates.
As part of the agreement, the Moline, Illinois-based company must also “evaluate its human resources practices, including record-keeping and internal audit procedures,” the Department of Labor said in a press release.
DEI encompasses a wide range of practices that advocates describe as ways for companies, schools and organizations to diversify and ensure equal access to opportunities, including initiatives such as hiring and mentorship programs targeted at underrepresented groups, anti-bias training and employee resource groups.
According to Cristina Jimenez, global head of diversity, inclusion and belonging at RHR International, most organizations believe that addressing diversity and equity issues internally is “critical to long-term success.” But when it comes to DEI, organizations also face “external pressure to conform to what could be perceived as neutrality or simply avoidance,” she said.
The growing threat of customer backlash and broader tensions around DEI “may prompt organizations to take a moment to think about their approach, change their strategy, or even simply ask themselves whether they’re focusing on the right things,” Jimenez added.
Critics of DEI programs argue that preferential treatment based on race or sex is itself discriminatory. Dozens of lawsuits challenging DEI policies in schools, governments and companies have been filed in courts across the country, and Republican-led state legislatures are considering numerous anti-DEI bills.
Amid the growing uncertainty surrounding DEI, some high-profile companies are making changes. In recent weeks, Microsoft eliminated its DEI team, citing “changing business needs,” Business Insider reported. Other large companies, including Tesla, X, Meta, and Zoom, have also eliminated DEI roles as the work environment changes.
“The true systems change work associated with DEI programs everywhere is no longer as business-critical or smart as it was in 2020,” the Microsoft leader said. The team wrote this in an email sent to thousands of employees, Business Insider reported.
