NEW YORK (AP) — Farm machinery maker John Deere has said it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events, becoming the latest major U.S. company to distance itself from diversity and inclusion efforts after becoming the target of a conservative backlash.
In a statement posted on Tuesday, Social Media Platform XJohn Deere also said it complies with federal and local laws and will audit all training materials “to ensure they are free of socially motivated messages,” without disclosing the content of those messages.
Moline, Illinois-based John Deere added that “diversity quotas or pronoun identification have not been and will not be company policy,” but said it would continue to “track and promote” diversity at the company, without providing details.
The move by the company, known on Wall Street as Deere & Co., comes just weeks after regional retailer Tractor Supply Co. ended a series of corporate diversity and climate commitments. Both announcements came after the company faced growing online backlash from conservative activists who opposed its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, sponsorship of LGBTQ+ pride events and climate advocacy.
Robbie Starbuck, a conservative political commentator and filmmaker, appears to have led the criticism of the two companies on X.
Starbucks posted that John Deere's announcement was “another big victory in our fight against wokeness,” but said it wasn't enough, calling on the company to scrap its DEI policy entirely and to stop participating in the Corporate Equality Index scoring of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group in the United States.
Starbuck, 35, who is Cuban American, told The Associated Press that “I know my children would benefit from these efforts,” but he opposes race-based hiring decisions, DEI initiatives, employee resource groups that promote non-professional activities and any policies that he believes allow social issues and politics to be part of the company culture.
“People should be able to go to work without feeling like they have to behave a certain way to be accepted by their employer,” he said.
Starbuck and other conservative activists praised Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply Co., which last month took a more aggressive approach than John Deere Co. Eliminate all DEI roles We will retire our current DEI goals and stop sending data to the Human Rights Campaign.
However, this move Anger from critics of new positionHe argued that Tractor Supply was giving in to hatred.
John Deere's move has faced similar backlash. Eric Bloom, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, called the announcement “disappointing” and “a direct result of coordinated attacks on American companies by far-right extremists.”
John Boyd Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, on Wednesday called for the resignation of Deere & Company CEO John C. May and a boycott of the company.
The group said Deere “continues to move in the wrong direction” on DEI and has “failed to demonstrate its support for Black farmers” since the NBFA's founding. Tuesday's announcement also comes as the company He agreed to pay $1.1 million. The Department of Labor paid back wages and interest to 277 black and Hispanic job applicants after they alleged hiring discrimination.
Conservative backlash against DEI is growing For companies in various industriesincluding previous boycott campaigns. Bud Light and target Starbuck said he has a list of companies he's considering posting content around LGBTQ+ marketing, starting with those with a traditionally conservative customer base, without disclosing who his next target company might be.
Subsequent changes to policies and corporate approaches haven't just come from corporate boardrooms: HR leader Society for Human Resource Management announced last week that the 340,000-member lobbying and advocacy group was removing “equity” from its diversity and inclusion approach, but said it would remain committed to pushing for it.
“Effective immediately, SHRM will adopt the acronym 'I&D' instead of 'IE&D,'” the group said in a statement posted to LinkedIn. “By emphasizing inclusion first, we aim to address current shortcomings in our DE&I programs that have led to public backlash and increased polarization.”
The move sparked backlash among LinkedIn users, with some calling it “outdated” and “shameful,” while others said they planned to cancel their SHRM memberships.
Additionally, others have stressed that prioritizing equity is essential to achieving a level playing field, saying such an omission signals a shift in messaging and could have a negative impact on efforts towards equality in the workplace.
Johnny C. Taylor Jr., SHRM's president and CEO, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the organization's focus groups found general agreement about prioritizing diversity and inclusion, but that “the E elicited all sorts of emotions and reactions.”
“You either love it or hate it,” he said. “If it's so polarizing that people abandon it, we all lose.”
Legal Attack Opposing corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts The issue has attracted even more attention since the Supreme Court ruling. 2023 ruling It aims to eliminate affirmative action in college admissions. Many conservatives and anti-DEI activists Set a similar precedent In the world of work.
“The backlash and potential vulnerability are real,” said Jen Stark, co-director of the Center for Business and Social Justice at BSR, a consulting network that represents more than 300 companies.
The vast majority of companies are “not taking the bait” and staying the course “because it makes business sense and it's the right thing to do,” she said. Still, she added, outside pressure is growing.
The US is also in the midst of a presidential election year, sparking debate about the prospects for Project 2025, the term used to describe a roughly 1,000-page handbook prepared by the Heritage Foundation for the incoming Republican administration that has become a cudgel wielded by Democrats against former President Donald Trump.
Stark noted, for example, that federal contracts have historically been a powerful tool for promoting fairness in the workplace, but companies across industries are preparing for possible changes to those contracts.
This doesn't mean companies should abandon DEI efforts altogether, but they may have to change their language or find new workarounds, she added.
“All these tensions that companies are, so to speak, teetering between are the new normal,” she said.
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___ AP Business Writer Lisa Leff in London contributed to this report.
___ Savage is a reporter on the Women's Workforce team. The Associated Press's women's workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The Associated Press is solely responsible for all content. standard To work with a charity, see our list of supporters and funding areas. AP.org.