Walmart reverses course on DEI policies
Fox News contributor Joe Concha joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss Walmart reversing its DEI policies, Alec Baldwin claimed Americans are misinformed, and the Axios CEO responded to Elon Musk over the changing consumer landscape. media.
FIRST ON FOX: A new report examined company statements, annual reports and other publicly available documents from all Fortune 500 companies and found that virtually all of them have maintained their commitments to “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI). its acronym in English) despite the tendency of private companies to renounce these. commitments amid growing criticism.
Walmart, Last week, it became the latest major company to roll back its DEI commitments. The private sector’s move away from such commitments, which include race-based hiring practices or other preferential treatment provided based on someone’s immutable characteristics, has been strong enough to galvanize a group of 49 Democratic lawmakers in the House. of Representatives to write a letter several days ago. weeks ago to the country’s Fortune 1000 companies, urging them not to bow to pressure to dismantle their DEI commitments. Lawmakers argued that such commitments help provide a fairer opportunity to achieve the American Dream for “everyone.”
The effort to ensure that “everyone” gets a fair shot is one of the main reasons Walmart decided to start rolling back some of its commitments.
“Our purpose, helping people save money and live better, has been at our core since our founding 62 years ago and continues to guide us today,” Joe Pennington, director of Walmart’s global press office, told Fox News Digital. “We have been on a journey and we know that we are not perfect, but each decision comes from wanting to foster a sense of belonging, open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers and be a Walmart for everyone.”
While pressure on private companies to drop their DEI commitments has led to some changes, 485 of the nation’s 500 largest companies continue to maintain some form of DEI commitment. according to a new report from the right-wing Heritage Foundation.
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The researchers spent weeks reviewing various documents and communications belonging to all of these companies and developed an easy-to-use database so readers can see the compromises for themselves.
Jonthan Butcher, lead author of the report, told Fox News Digital that he believes public pressure is very influential when it comes to getting private companies to give up what he described as discriminatory DEI commitments. Sources familiar with Walmart’s decision to roll back its DEI policies indicated that public pressure, as well as feedback from customers and associates, was an aspect driving some of the company’s changes.
“I think when the pressure has been applied one by one… companies recognize that when they get called out, they have no way to defend themselves and say, ‘Well, what we’re actually doing is healthy.’ No one has tried to say that,” Butcher said. “Instead, they have simply retreated. And rightly so.”
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Criticism of DEI commitments in the workplace was reinforced following last year’s affirmative action ruling by the Supreme Court that banned racial preferences in college admissions.
Some of the top companies highlighted in Butcher’s report include Nike and UnitedHealth Group.
Nike, for example, was found to have a page on your website on “representation and compensation” which states: “NIKE is focused on the representation of its workforce, starting with women globally and racial and ethnic minorities in the United States.” Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group states in its “People and Culture” website that the company strives to provide patients with “culturally relevant care” and seeks to “promote a diverse healthcare workforce.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to both Nike and UnithedHealth Group for comment but did not receive a response.
Butcher ultimately said he believes Americans are waking up to the racially discriminatory elements of DEI practices, and noted that the goal of his research is to continue to build on that momentum.
