Since Tractor Supply upended its longstanding diversity, equity and inclusion practices in June, more retailers, brands and other firms — including Lowe’s, Harley Davidson, Ford Motor Co., Indian Motorcycle, Molson Coors and Jack Daniels owner Brown-Forman — have similarly abandoned theirs.

These moves are reflective of an increasingly tenuous environment for any company or human resources department aiming to assemble a dynamic workforce and leadership team, according to panelists who spoke at the Society for Human Resource Management annual conference. As a result, many companies are scrutinizing their DEI policies.

And most are sticking with them.

A December 2023 survey by the Conference Board of nearly 200 chief human resources officers found “unanimous support for maintaining, if not intensifying, DEI efforts into 2024, with 63% actively seeking to further diversify their workforce.” Some companies are ducking the current spotlight on DEI by renaming their initiatives while keeping their substance intact, several experts said. Those that take this route should evaluate changes to be sure they align with business strategies and the interests of stakeholders, according to a recent report from the think tank on “repositioning DEI.”

Because companies have diverse stakeholders, including employees, customers and shareholders, and because it’s their business to be profitable, it’s not just acceptable but necessary for them to question their DEI programs’ effectiveness and evolve them as necessary, according to Diana Scott, who leads the nonprofit’s U.S. Human Capital Center.

In all, though, some 90% of those working with the Conference Board remain committed to DEI after doing so, Scott said by video call.

“Most organizations are trying to stay the course because they want to create an inclusive, diverse, vibrant culture in the organization,” Scott said. “Because they know that contributes to employee engagement, which contributes to employee productivity, which contributes to bottom-line business results. You don’t do DEI because you’re trying to be ‘woke.’ You do DEI because it’s actually serving your business.”

The fallout

While social media provocateur Robby Starbuck has been taking credit for most of the recent high-profile cases of what he calls “woke” companies scaling back or ending their DEI programs, the companies themselves are not stating that. Tractor Supply declined to comment for this story, and the other brands didn’t return multiple requests for comment. All were asked if Starbuck was behind their policy change.

This reluctance likely stems from Starbuck’s position as a political agitator with maximal views, whose frothy approach doesn’t comport with sober business decisions, experts said.

“This is an extreme activist who’s actually profiting from his activism,” Valeria Piaggio, global head of DEI at Kantar, said by phone. “Most are not abandoning DEI. What we do know is that some companies are adjusting the language. Or if they have a program supporting young professionals in their company, instead of stating that this is benefiting a specific group, they are expanding it.”

The anti-DEI movement has been building in the last year or two, with this year’s presidential election and last year’s Supreme Court decision, which barred affirmative action at universities, adding to the uncertainty around and attention to DEI, according to Piaggio.

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