Donald Trump’s victory in the United States presidential elections and the ultra-conservative wave in that country are having a derivative in the business world that directly affects the management of their teams and the policies to promote equality. Some of the large multinationals in that country, from the distribution giant Walmart, to the car manufacturer Ford, to the aeronautical giant Boeing, are reducing their strategies to expand diversity, largely due to this growing pressure from the movements conservatives.
The last step has been taken by the distribution giant Walmart, considered the largest hypermarket company in the world. As context, last year it had a turnover of more than 611,000 million dollars, the equivalent of 578,000 million euros; and ensures that it has a workforce of more than 2 million people Worldwide, of the 1.6 million correspond to the United States.
In your country, Walmart is going to put the brakes on its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, known by the acronym DEI. In this way, it will take less into account factors such as race or gender to promote the diversity of its workforce and the hiring of suppliers, according to the information published by the agency. Bloomberg.
The distribution giant is also going to stop participating in analyzes and studies promoted by organizations such as Human Rights Campaign, which defends LGTBQ+ rights in the business world; and will review your participation in Pride, according to the aforementioned information.
This situation is not a unique case; in recent months, other multinationals in the distribution sector, such as Target or the beer manufacturer Budweiser, have experienced boycotts due to their position in favor of diversity. “Many of our employees have faced negative customer reaction to our Pride assortment in stores,” Target president and CEO Brian C. Cornell acknowledged a year ago, who also assumed a drop in sales due to the boycott their stores. “Members of our team began to receive threats and aggressive reactions that affected their sense of security and well-being at work,” he explained in a presentation to investors.
The change in Walmart policy coincides with the social media posting of a video in which the activist against measures in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion, Robby Starbuck, claimed that he had contacted company executives to change their business approaches or, otherwise, face a lawsuit. boycott. However, Walmart assures in the aforementioned information that it had already decided to rethink its strategy before the conservative activist’s video.
A policy promoted by the Biden Administration
These policies in favor of diversity and equality have been one of the priorities of the Joe Biden Government. Shortly after arriving at the White House, he signed a Executive Order to promote civil rights, racial justice and equal opportunity in the federal Administration, which he arrived months after the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.
After that decision by Washington, companies picked up the gauntlet to promote this type of policy themselves, until the ultraconservative vision took off. For example, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran for president, In 2023, it prohibited public schools and universities from allocating funds to promote DEI strategiesbecause they understand that they are elements of indoctrination.
Project 2025, promoted by the Heritage Foundation think tank, is also behind repealing this type of inclusion policies. And Trump has surrounded himself with ideologues of this project for his future Administration, because he has already appointed almost half a dozen people who contributed to the development of this plan, which seeks to carry out the “second American revolution.” In fact, during the presidential campaign, the Republican candidacy launched the idea that Kamala Harris aspired to the White House because the DEI criteria helped her reach the vice presidency with Biden.
This scenario is where American multinationals have decided to put the brakes on DEI strategies. One of them, the Ford automobile group. “We are aware that our employees and customers have a wide range of beliefs, and the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an internal statement explaining the new inclusion and equality policy, collected by the agency Reuters.
Meanwhile, Boeing ended its department specifically focused on DEI policies in October and integrated it into the Human Resources area. In this case, the cut goes further, because the aeronautical giant has been immersed in a crisis with several derivatives for months. On the one hand, due to the problems with some of its models, after a 737 Max lost a door in mid-flight. On the other hand, due to the strike of nearly 30,000 employees that has resulted in losses of billions of dollars. For this reason, it announced that it was going to cut its workforce by around 17,000 people, 10% of its workforce.
Boeing was one of the companies that received criticism from Elon Musk for advancing DEI policies. “Do you want to fly on an airplane where the hiring of personnel with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion has been prioritized over your safety?” he assured on the social network shortly after the 737 Max crash.
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