Home-improvement business Lowe’s has joined a growing list of companies to retreat from commitments on equality, diversity and inclusion (DEI), as a right-wing activist’s campaign continues.
In recent months, conservative activist Robby Starbuck has drummed up outrage over large US corporations’ commitments to so-called woke policies. Several big-name businesses, including Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniels and John Deere, have already caved into pressure from the campaign.
Now, an internal memo, being widely shared in the media, shows retail chain Lowe’s appears to be the latest brand to back down by announcing an end to its participation in surveys for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), as well as by combining employee groups into one umbrella organisation and ending support for “festivals, parades and fairs” – arguably meaning Pride events.
In a post shared on X/Twitter, Starbuck claimed that he contacted executives at the chain last week “to let them know I planned to expose their woke policies” and subsequently “woke up to an email where they pre-emptively made big changes”.
He went on to say: “We’re now forcing multi-billion-dollar organisations to change their policies without even posting, just from fear they have of being the next company we expose.
“So far, you’ve helped me change corporate policy at Tractor Supply, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Polaris, Indian Motorcycle and now Lowe’s. We are a force to be reckoned with.”
However, a spokesman for Lowe’s told CNN they had heard from Starbuck after the company “already announced changes that had long been in processâ€.
Starbuck has been a leading advocate in Tennessee for right-wing causes such as the banning of gender-affirming medical care for minors, and prohibiting children at drag queen shows. During the pandemic, he campaigned against COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates, CNN reported.
The Human Rights Campaign has issued a statement about Starbuck’s campaign, with vice-president of programmes and corporate advocacy, Eric Bloem, describing the former music video director as “so radical, the Tennessee Republican Party kicked him off the ballot”.
Bloem continued: “Companies should not be cowering to a random guy with zero business experience who is a political bully…
“These short-sighted decisions have long-term consequences. Hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe and inclusive work environments for LGBTQ+ people, based on manufactured outrage from MAGA bullies, is bad business and leaves employees and millions of LGBTQ+-allied customers behind.
“With nearly 30 per cent of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+, and the community wielding $1.4 trillion (£1.05 trillion) in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.â€
Negative responses to DEI and pro-LGBTQ+ policies are nothing new.
Commitments to diversity have become a lightning-rod topic in US politics, with anti-LGBTQ+ groups and individuals boycotting various companies for supporting minority groups.
Last year, there were calls for the boycott of companies that even seemed to slightly support LGBTQ+ people, including Froot Loops, Dr. Martens and Costa.
Bud Light became the most notable example after the beer brand collaborated with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Right-wingers boycotted the beer, with some seen smashing bottles on supermarket shelves while musician Kid Rock even made a video of himself shooting cans.
After parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev reported that US sales had fallen dramatically, bosses at Bud Light said the brand would “stay in our lane†in the future.
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