Janice R. Andrews
Alcohol giant Molson Coors is the latest company to cut back on its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. This is because right groups are putting more pressure on the company. A recent report from CNBC says that the company has chosen to cut back on its DEI projects. This is in line with a trend of backlash against similar efforts in corporate America. This change, which was mostly caused by conservative campaigner Robby Starbucks, is part of a larger trend among companies that are being criticised for their DEI policies.
The Conservatives’ Fight Against DEI
Robby Starbuck, a well-known conservative with a large following on social media, has led efforts against businesses that support DEI policies. Starbuck says that DEI programs don’t line up with the standards of many businesses’ customers, who tend to hold more traditional views. A lot of different groups have been the targets of his social media campaigns to get them to change their minds about DEI, and it looks like they are working.
In an interview with Bloomberg in August, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said he wanted to get rid of DEI programs and instead push for balance in company policies. He says that DEI programs are often driven by politics and that companies should concentrate on their main goals instead of tackling controversial social problems. “We want to bring back some balance and reason to business America,” Starbucks told Bloomberg.
The DEI Rollback at Molson Coors
Because conservatives are upset, Molson Coors has decided to back off of DEI policies. This is not a quick response, but part of a larger plan that has been in the works since March. Business Insider got a copy of an internal memo that says the company wants to get rid of diversity goals for suppliers and cut back on training related to DEI. The memo made it clear that the goal is not “aspirational representation goals,” but rather matching senior pay with business success.
Along with these changes, Molson Coors will no longer be a part of external DEI scores like the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. Before this, the company got a perfect score on the HRC’s ranking for 19 years in a row, so this is a big change. Molson Coors has also said it wants to refocus its efforts on key business goals, saying that these steps will make its employees more involved and inspired.
Other Businesses Are Following This Lead
Molson Coors isn’t the only company pulling back from DEI practices. A lot of big companies, like tech giants Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom, have cut back on their DEI projects over the past year. Business Insider reported in July that many law companies, including Winston & Strawn, are being sued over affirmative action. This added to the growing opposition.
Following pressure from right activists like Starbucks, a number of other well-known businesses have also changed how they handle DEI:
- Harley-Davidson: In August, Harley-Davidson said it would stop its diversity spending goals and get out of the HRC’s yearly LGBTQ acceptance rate. Starbuck led a social media effort in which she asked the company to say sorry for its practices. This led to the decision.
- John Deere: The company that makes farm equipment is said to have lowered its DEI pledges by doing things like stopping taking part in cultural awareness events and getting rid of its gender policy. The changes were made after Starbuck’s negative comments online went popular and were seen by millions of people.
- Tractor Supply Company: This company has cut back on its DEI programs by getting rid of diversity roles, stopping to support Pride events, and stopping to be a part of the HRC’s Corporate Equality Index. These choices were made after Starbucks ran a campaign on social media.
- Lowe’s: The home improvement store has also cut back on its DEI programs. It has merged its resource groups for minority workers into a single organisation and stopped taking part in the HRC’s polls. Starbucks said that his action was what made the changes happen, but a Lowe’s spokeswoman told Bloomberg that the company was already making changes before he got involved.
- Ford: The car company has also changed its DEI policies. It has dropped some diversity ranks and made all of its employees eligible for employee resource groups. Ford said they needed to get back to their main business goals, which fits with their choice to stay out of politics.
Responses from the Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a group that monitors business DEI efforts, has said that these rollbacks are wrong. The nonprofit’s vice president of programs and business advocacy, Eric Bloem, said he was worried that these moves send a message to workers that their employers don’t care about equal rights at work. As Bloem told Business Insider, “cutting DEI programs sends a clear message to employees that their employers just don’t care about equality in the workplace.”
Kelley Robinson, President of HRC, also said Ford’s choice to back away from DEI was wrong and that she made it because of pressure from right activists. Robinson said that these kinds of actions could hurt businesses’ relationships with both workers and customers in the long run. According to HRC statistics, the LGBTQ+ community in the U.S. has over $1.4 trillion in spending power, and many customers choose to support companies that are welcoming to everyone.
What’s Next for DEI in Business America?
The public seems to still support diversity efforts, even though more and more companies are rolling back DEI programs. A study from the Washington Post and Ipsos in April found that 61% of Americans support DEI programs. This means that business leaders may find it hard to balance the needs of customers with political pressures.
Companies like Molson Coors, Ford, and Harley-Davidson are moving away from DEI. It’s still too early to tell what the long-term effects of these changes will be. Will companies that back off of efforts to be more inclusive get pushback from more progressive customers, or will their more conservative customers back them up? There is one thing that is certain: the discussion about DEI in business America is not over yet.
