Lowe’s. Tractor Supply. Harley-Davidson.
Now Walmart.
The company, which is the nation’s largest retailer with some two million employees, is pulling back on some of its initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion, known as D.E.I.
Robby Starbuck, an anti-D.E.I. activist and a social media influencer, declared victory on Monday, saying that Walmart, the country’s largest private employer, was taking several actions in response to his threatened conservative consumer boycott before the holiday shopping season. A spokeswoman for Walmart confirmed the changes, some of which were already in motion.
The retailer, like many other companies, has been reviewing its practices since the Supreme Court knocked down affirmative action at colleges last year.
“We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers, and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said in a statement.
As a result of the changes, third-party merchants will no longer be able to sell some L.G.B.T.Q.-themed items on Walmart.com that are marketed to children. The company will also stop funding the Center for Racial Equity, a nonprofit initiative that Walmart has backed with $100 million, when the agreement expires next year. And the company will stop sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that tracks businesses’ L.G.B.T.Q. policies. It will also stop using the terms D.E.I. and Latinx in official communications.
Mr. Starbuck has waged online campaigns against several companies whose policies he deems to be too “woke.” While Mr. Starbuck is benefiting as much from a trend to reverse D.E.I. policy as he is instigating it, companies across the United States have been preparing for the potential of possible attacks by activists. Walmart’s actions underline the risk it may see in a public fight, particularly as the anti-D.E.I. agenda gets a boost after Donald J. Trump’s election.
In a post on social media, Mr. Starbuck said he had told executives at the company that he was working on a story about “wokeness” at Walmart, but instead the two sides had “productive conversations.”
Mr. Starbuck initially focused on companies with customers whom he thought would most likely be sympathetic to his cause, like Tractor Supply and John Deere. Walmart represents a different kind of company: one with employees and customers on both sides of the political divide.
“America just voted, and we voted against ‘wokeness,’” Mr. Starbuck said in a video posted on X, as he announced his next targets: Amazon and Target.
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