• Molson Coors pulls back on DEI programs amid criticism from conservative activist.

• Robby Starbuck has led social media campaigns against companies using DEI practices.

• Other companies that have withdrawn or watered down DEI initiatives include Lowe’s and Ford.

Beverage maker Molson Coors is the latest company to backtrack on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Many of these campaigns have been led by Robby Starbuck, a prominent conservative activist with a large social media following. He argues that these initiatives are out of step with the values ​​of the companies’ largely conservative customer bases.

The shift away from DEI policies is part of an ongoing backlash against diversity programs at American companies. Tech companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom have cut DEI programs this year, Business Insider reported in July, and law firms including Winston & Strawn have faced affirmative action lawsuits.

While activists like Starbucks have been vocal in their criticism of companies and other groups, 61% of Americans support DEI practices, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll conducted in April.

Starbuck told Bloomberg in August that he would like to see DEI practices eliminated and “restore a sense of neutrality and common sense” to corporate America. He did not respond to BI’s request for comment.

The Human Rights Campaign slammed companies’ backtracking on DEI policies in a statement to BI in August.

“Decisions to cut DEI initiatives send a clear message to employees that their employers simply don’t care about workplace equity. Putting politics above employees and consumers only hurts the very people these companies rely on,” wrote Eric Bloem, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy for the nonprofit.

Here’s how some companies scaled back their DEI programs following Starbuck’s campaigns:

Harley-Davidson

In August, Harley-Davidson said on Program X that it would withdraw diversity-based spending targets for its suppliers, discontinue employee social impact training and withdraw from the Human Rights Campaign’s annual LGBTQ acceptance rankings, Bloomberg reported.

Harley told Bloomberg that the company was “saddened by the negative social media sentiment over the past few weeks aimed at dividing the Harley-Davidson community,” after Starbucks on Channel X called on the company to apologize and change its policies.

Bloem of the Human Rights Campaign said in a statement to BI that withdrawing from DEI hurts employees and customers.

“Harley-Davidson’s decision to withdraw from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fueled by far-right actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can intimidate and dismantle initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace,” Bloem wrote.

John Deere

John Deere has backtracked on its DEI commitments, including no longer participating in cultural awareness events and eliminating its pronoun policy, BI reported in July.

While John Deere has not publicly stated a reason for the decision, the change comes after online criticism from Starbucks that appeared in a video called X that garnered more than 5 million views in July.

A company that supplies tractors

Tractor Supply has significantly scaled back its DEI programs, including eliminating diversity roles and pulling its sponsorship of Pride events. The company also announced it would no longer provide data to the Human Rights Campaign and would end its carbon emissions targets. This comes after Starbuck’s criticized the company for promoting what it described as “woke” politics, as NPR reported in June.

Pole Star

While Starbucks didn’t specifically target Polaris, the Harley competitor has scaled back its DEI efforts, including removing all mentions of the term from its websites. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company emphasized its intention to refrain from political discussions.

Lowe’s

Home improvement retailer Lowe’s said in an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg that it will scale back its DEI programs.

As Bloomberg reported on August 27, the company will stop participating in surveys conducted by the Human Rights Campaign and will combine minority employee advocacy groups into one umbrella organization.

Starbuck told X that it had prompted Lowe’s policy change. But a Lowe’s spokesman told Bloomberg that they had already begun making changes before Starbuck got involved.

According to Lowe’s, most of its customers are baby boomers from rural areas. data from consumer analytics firm Numerator. The company was named a “Best Workplace for LGBTQ Equality” by the Human Rights Campaign in Lowe’s 2021 Culture, Diversity and Inclusion Report.

Orlando Gonzales, senior vice president of research and training programs at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement to BI that scaling back DEI policies will have negative consequences for companies in the long term.

“Businesses shouldn’t be kowtowing to some random guy with no business experience whatsoever,” Gonzales said, citing Starbucks’ removal from the 2022 Tennessee Republican Party ticket.

Ferry

In an internal email shared with Bloomberg by Starbucks, the automaker said it would withdraw from some diversity rankings, such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

The company also said it would refocus its employee resource groups to make them accessible to all employees. Ford also pledged to become less involved in political affairs and changed some corporate sponsorships.

Ford faced criticism last month after it reported quality problems and recalled vehicles.

Starbuck wrote in a post on X that Ford’s withdrawal from DEI initiatives came just before he began investigating Ford’s “woke thinking policies.”

HRC, meanwhile, said Ford had “cowered” to Starbucks and that the company “has a decades-long commitment to inclusion and ranks highly on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.”

“The Human Rights Campaign could not be more disappointed to see this company shirk its responsibility to its employees, consumers and shareholders,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.

Molson Coors

Beverage maker Molson Coors is abandoning many of its DEI policies and initiatives, CNBC reported Wednesday.

In an internal memo seen by BI, Molson Coors said it will eliminate supplier diversity quotas. The quotas, which encourage sourcing from minority- and women-owned companies, can be “complex and influenced by factors outside” the company’s control.

In addition, the brewery said it plans to move away from DEI-based corporate training and focus more on key business goals.

The company said the decision to cap pay, which has been in the works since March, was made to ensure executive compensation is based solely on business performance and does not include “ambitious representation goals,” the memo said.

Molson Coors will no longer participate in the HRC Equality Index or any other third-party rankings, CNBC reports. The company previously received a perfect score of 100 for 19 consecutive years.

The memo added that the driving force behind the change was “the understanding that when all of our people know they are welcome, they are more engaged, motivated and committed to the collective success of our company.”

HRC poll results released Tuesday found that more than 75% of LGBTQ+ adults have a negative view of companies that have rolled back DEI initiatives.

HRC’s Gonzales said the LGBTQ+ community has more than $1.4 trillion in purchasing power in the U.S. and wants to “work for and support companies that support us.”

Neither company responded to BI’s request for comment.

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