“Walmart becomes latest — and biggest — company to roll back its DEI policies.”
This headline, published last week by the Associated Press, provides yet more evidence that diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives are on the retreat across America.
“Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, joining a growing list of major corporations that have done the same,” the report begins. It goes on:
The changes, confirmed by Walmart on Monday [November 25], are sweeping and include everything from not renewing a five-year commitment for an equity racial center set up in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd, to pulling out of a prominent gay rights index. And when it comes to race or gender, Walmart won’t be giving priority treatment to suppliers.
According to the report, a host of other initiatives will soon end at the big-box retailer, including more scrutiny toward sexual and transgender products aimed at minors (e.g., chest binders) and the end of funding for Pride and other events deemed inappropriate for children.
In its very first paragraph, AP identified the catalyst for Walmart’s decision as “attack[s] by conservative activists.” Farther down the page, conservative commentator Robby Starbuck was singled out for criticism.
Starbuck has indeed been effective in lobbying corporations to pare back their DEI initiatives by highlighting the great chasm that exists between the tenets of DEI and the views of average Americans.
In a recent tweet, Starbuck provided an up-to-date list of companies that have been responsive to his efforts. It included:
- Walmart
- Tractor Supply Co.
- John Deere
- Harley-Davidson
- Indian Motorcycle
- Lowe’s
- Ford
- Coors
- Jack Daniel’s
- Caterpillar
- Boeing
- Toyota
- Stanley Black & Decker
- Craftsman
- DeWalt Tools
While Starbuck deserves credit for his efforts, AP has apparently underestimated the common sense of Walmart’s executive leadership. The media’s scapegoating of Starbuck suggests these concerning practices can only be stopped via accountability from conservative activists. But is that true?
Either way, Starbuck has cheered the move and highlighted its immediate impact on financial markets. “24 hours after announcing Walmart worked with me to end their woke policies, their stock is up 2.1% and their competitor Target is down 3%,” he wrote on X.
The timing of these events couldn’t have been better.
A newly released study by the Network Contagion Research Institute has found key DEI practices cause average Americans to act with increased hostility, express authoritarian tendencies, and agree with extreme rhetoric.
Conducted in partnership with Rutgers University, the study investigated the psychological effects of DEI training materials, with a specific focus on the popular books How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo.
As explained by journalist and evolutionary biologist Colin Wright:
In one experiment, participants read excerpts from Robin DiAngelo and Ibram X. Kendi, juxtaposed against a neutral control text about corn production. Afterward, they were asked to evaluate a hypothetical scenario: an applicant being rejected from an elite university.
Those exposed to the DEI materials were far more likely to perceive racism in the admissions process, despite no evidence to support such a conclusion.
Those exposed to the DEI materials were also more likely to advocate punitive measures, such as suspending the admissions officer or mandating additional DEI training.
In Wright’s longer exposé about the study, it is even clearer that the rollback of DEI initiatives is a cultural step forward for America.
With the 2024 election fresh in our minds, it is tempting to think of the re-election of Donald Trump as the reason DEI is in decline.
In reality, it is clear that wokeness—which is perhaps best embodied in the proliferation of DEI policies—began its retreat some time ago. Trump back in the White House or Walmart rethinking its DEI strategies are merely symptoms of this fact.
Average Americans have become more discerning in recent years, and that’s something to celebrate.
Less DEI and more imago Dei is a big step in the right direction.
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Image credit: “Walmart store exterior” by Walmart on Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Image cropped.
