Target became the latest big company Friday to announce that it will be rolling back its progressive diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Target informed employees that it will be ending its three year DEI goals, concluding racial “equity” initiatives, stopping external DEI surveys including the human rights campaign’s corporate equality index, and changing its supplier diversity program to focus more on small businesses.
“In every area of our business, we are constantly listening, learning and adjusting to set ourselves up for long-term success. As we start a new fiscal year, we’re continuing to shape the next chapter of Belonging at the Bullseye,” the memo reads.
The company is also ensuring that its employee resource groups are focused on mentorship and evaluating its corporate partnerships to make sure they are aligned with its growth mission.
Target’s turn away from left-wing diversity programs marks a significant shift for the company, which became the subject of intense criticism in 2023 for promoting LGBT merchandise for children. One of the brands Target partnered with for its transgender-themed merchandise is an openly satanist shop that glorifies violence against “transphobes.”
In 2024, Target limited its LGBT offerings because of the sales dip it experienced due to the divisive assortment of clothing. Target curated its LGBT product sales to certain stores based on sales performance after some locations experienced major boycotts due to the LGBT merchandise.
Target joins a growing list of large corporations to walk back their commitment to DEI because of its increasingly perilous legal and political status. Conservatives have used legal and political measures to combat the outgrowth of DEI in most American institutions. Meta, McDonald’s, Walmart, and several other large corporations have scaled back DEI programs in recent months, with more companies potentially following suit now that President Donald Trump is in office.
The biggest legal victory in the fight against DEI was the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling barring colleges and universities from using race-based admissions policies because they violate the 14th Amendment. Conservative groups have launched numerous legal challenges to DEI programs alleging they violate non-discrimination law under the 14th Amendment and the 1964 civil rights act. Meanwhile, a number of red states have passed legislation banning DEI from publicly funded institutions to combat its presence inside colleges and universities.
President Trump moved earlier this week to fire all federal DEI employees and directed American corporations and universities to end their DEI policies because they could be illegal. Trump’s executive actions curtailing DEI became the biggest victory for DEI critics to date and could dramatically alter the legal status of DEI moving forward.