Walmart aims to scale back DEI initiatives. California Attorney General Bonta urges it not to
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Friday urged retailing giant Walmart to abandon plans to scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion programs amid pressure from political conservatives.
The retailer implemented numerous training programs aimed at increasing the diversity of its workforce and supply chain in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020, but late last year said it would be winding some of those DEI efforts down, a letter from Bonta and 12 other attorneys general said.
“More than 100,000 Californians are employed at Walmart, and these employees deserve a workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment,” Bonta said in a press release. “I urge Walmart to reconsider its drastic decision to end diversity programs. Maintaining a diverse and equitable workplace is good for workers, good for consumers, and good for the bottom line.”
Numerous large companies have backed away from diversity initiatives in recent months. On Monday, McDonald’s said that while its commitment to inclusion remained steadfast, it would no longer set aspirational diversity goals and was ending a program asking suppliers to commit to DEI goals.
A spokesperson for Walmart confirmed that the company had received the letter.
“We continue to operate with a focus on living our values of respect, integrity, service and excellence,” Walmart said in a statement. “We remain committed to creating a culture where everyone can be successful, and ensuring we are a Walmart for everyone.”
As recently as last summer, the company published a report titled “You Belong,” which detailed its workforce representation by ethnicity, gender and other aspects. The report showed, for example, that 45% of people promoted from hourly to management jobs were women, while 22% were women of color. About 45% of all promotions from hourly to management were people of color, the report said.
However, the company said in November that it was rolling back its DEI efforts. The company also said it planned to monitor its third-party marketplace items to make sure they exclude products for transgender people that are aimed at minors, news outlets widely reported.
In their letter, the attorneys general sought to dispel concern among some large companies that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision ending affirmative action in education did not impact diversity, equity and inclusion programs at private corporations.
“If anything, civil rights laws support — and often necessitate — efforts to make corporations more inclusive for all employees, including employees from minority groups and other protected classes,” the attorneys general wrote.
In addition to Bonta, signatories to the letter included the top prosecutors in Illinois, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
This story was originally published January 10, 2025 at 1:39 PM.
