Walmart has become the largest private company to announce it will be rolling back on promoting diversity initiatives.
Several MAGA figures have rejoiced after Walmart announced it will be rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Walmart, the largest private employer in the U.S. with 1.6 million workers, has become the latest and largest company to say it will backtrack on its diversity initiatives amid right-wing pressure.
The changes include pulling out of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, which measures workplace inclusion for LGBTQ+ employees, scrapping an equity racial center and not giving priority treatment to suppliers when it comes to race or gender, reported The Associated Press on Monday.
DEI programs aim to address inequities among historically marginalized groups in business, schools, and government agencies and have long been a target of Republican attacks over claims it is racially divisive. Several people joining President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet, including those linked to the Heritage Foundation’s conservative manifesto, Project 2025, have vowed to target DEI initiatives.
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire who will be joining Trump’s cabinet in the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, celebrated the Walmart announcement, suggesting this was a major turning point in the battle against the so-called woke agenda.
“The tide has turned”, Musk posted on the X, formerly Twitter, platform he owns.
Robby Starbuck, a former Tennessee GOP congressional candidate who has led a pressure campaign against businesses promoting DEI initiatives, took credit for Walmart’s announcement and said he had contacted the company about its policies.
