Lowe’s Responds To Report
Let’s talk about a significant shift happening in corporate America, particularly with one of the nation’s largest home improvement retailers, Lowe’s. On Monday, Lowe’s made headlines by announcing a major change in its approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
This move comes amid growing pressure from conservative customers and activists who have been pushing back against what they see as "woke" policies being adopted by major companies.
The change at Lowe’s was highlighted by conservative activist Robby Starbuck, who took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to share the news. Starbuck claimed that after reaching out to Lowe’s executives about their DEI policies, the company decided to preemptively make significant adjustments. According to Starbuck, Lowe’s informed him that it would no longer fund “Pride” events or participate in the corporate equality index managed by the Human Rights Campaign, a prominent left-leaning organization.
Big news: I messaged @Lowes executives last week to let them know that I planned to expose their woke policies. This morning I woke up to an email where they preemptively made big changes.
Here are the changes:
• Ending participation in the @HRC’s woke Corporate Equality Index… pic.twitter.com/qOUr2JLGV7
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 26, 2024
In an internal memo, Lowe’s leadership explained that the company had started reevaluating its diversity and inclusion programs following the Supreme Court’s decision against race-based affirmative action in university admissions.
The memo stated, “Like many other companies, in July 2023 after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Harvard/UNC cases, we began reviewing our diversity and inclusion programs to ensure that they are lawful and aligned with our commitment to include everyone in the incredible opportunities at Lowe’s and ensure that no one is excluded.”
As a result of this review, Lowe’s announced several changes. The company will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign survey and will reorganize its employee resource groups to avoid separating employees by identity. Additionally, Lowe’s stated that it would shift its focus away from sponsoring festivals, parades, and fairs, directing its philanthropic efforts instead toward safe and affordable housing, disaster relief, and skilled trades education.
This move by Lowe’s isn’t happening in isolation. Other companies, like Tractor Supply and Harley-Davidson, have also pulled back on DEI initiatives following pressure from activists like Starbuck. Just last week, Harley-Davidson announced it had completely discontinued its DEI programs, stepping away from the Human Rights Campaign survey and implementing stricter protocols for future corporate sponsorships.
Starbuck celebrated these developments, noting that their efforts are having a real impact. "We’re now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose,” he said. “We are winning and one by one we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America.”