Target is facing significant backlash following its announcement Friday that it will end its three-year diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals and its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives. And social media is having a field day.
Social media pushback
A widely circulating image on social media is calling for a boycott of Minneapolis-based Target, starting Feb. 1. “No Diversity? No Equity? No Inclusion? No Dollars!” the post says. Twin Cities Pride, a nonprofit organization supporting the LGBTQIA+ movement, expressed deep disappointment over Target’s announcement and said it will exclude the retailer from the 2025 Twin Cities Pride parade. Target has long been a sponsor of the event. .
Shortly after news of Target’s DEI changes broke, a user of the social media platform Bluesky, The Earl of Orkney, posted a list of retailers who “are the good guys supporting DEI” and urged other users to “reward them with your business.” Grocers Meijer, Kroger, and Giant, as well as Costco, were included on the list. Fashion designer Tina Knowles also criticized Target, stating in an Instagram post that she was crossing the retailer off her list and claiming the company “bowed down and kissed the ring.” Her post was later deleted.
Why now on DEI?
Target is just one of many companies that have backtracked on their DEI initiatives since President Donald Trump came out against such programs leading up to his Jan. 20 inauguration. Companies like Ford and John Deere have already dropped their DEI programs and late last year, Walmart reversed course on its DEI and LGBTQ initiatives, becoming the largest private employer to do so.
Target’s plan to backtrack
-
As part of its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy, Target announced that it will evolve its Supplier Diversity team into a Supplier Engagement team to “better reflect our inclusive global procurement process across a broad range of suppliers, including an increased focus on small businesses,” according to the retailer’s website
-
In addition to ending DEI goals and REACH initiatives, Target will also discontinue all external diversity-focused surveys, including the Corporate Equality Index. The retailer emphasized its continued focus on a “commitment to inclusion”