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Forbes
Forbes
24 Jan 2025


Target is scaling back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion policies as an anti-DEI wave continues to sweep over corporate America following President Donald Trump’s election, marking another instance when the retailer curbed its diversity efforts after reducing its Pride Month collection last year after conservative backlash.

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Target is the latest in a series of companies to roll back diversity initiatives. (Photo by Robyn ... [+] Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Target said in a statement it would phase out its “three-year diversity, equity and inclusion goals,” which it previously implemented to increase hiring and promotions of employees of color and women, and to increase its spending on diverse suppliers.

The retailer said it would shift its “Supplier Diversity” team to a “Supplier Engagement” team to “better reflect our inclusive global procurement process across a broad range of suppliers.”

The company also said it would no longer participate in external diversity surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, a measure of LGBTQ workplace inclusion that has been a frequent casualty of the anti-DEI wave.

The company will also phase out its Racial Equity Action and Change initiatives—which included anti-racism training for employees, a focus on hiring and promoting Black employees and sourcing more products from Black employees—which the company said were planned to end this year.

In a memo shared with Forbes that was sent to employees by Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, she wrote that “many years of data, insights, listening and learning” have informed Target’s policy changes, including an effort to stay “in step with the evolving external landscape.”

Target, which previously increased its diversity efforts after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, and has also been a vocal supporter of Pride Month, for which it has sold an expansive merchandise line, has previously stepped back from supporting social justice causes in response to conservative backlash. In 2023, Target faced backlash from conservatives because of its support for Pride. That wave of backlash was partially aided by misinformation as conservatives accused Target of selling a “tuck-friendly” swimsuit for children, which it had not. The company announced it would remove certain items from its pride line in May 2023, citing threats and violent confrontations against its employees that impacted “our team members’ sense of safety and well-being while at work.”

Target Removes Pride Items After Conservative Firestorm—Sparking Criticism From LGBTQ Groups (Forbes)