Target is latest corporation to terminate DEI goals, in line with White House

Target, after strengthening its diversity goals in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, became Friday the latest big company to retreat from its diversity goals amid pressure from conservative activists.

It came after a week of President Donald Trump’s condemnation and promises of ending diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs.

Robby Starbuck, an activist known for amplifying anti-DEI sentiments and pressuring companies to change their policies, took credit on social media platform X.

“Recently, executives @Target found out I was doing a story on wokeness there. When we learned they were prepared to make changes, we shifted our focus to those changes instead,” he wrote. “I have to give their executives credit for making these changes because it will send shockwaves in certain sectors of corporate America.”

While companies such as Tractor Supply, Deere & Company and Walmart also have stepped back DEI programs, Costco and JPMorgan Chase recently reaffirmed them. Ninety-eight percent of Costco shareholders this week rejected an anti-diversity measure the conservative activist group National Center for Public Policy Research put forward.

While Target said it was concluding some of its programs devoted to diversity and inclusion, it said it was still committed to an inclusive workplace.

“We remain focused on driving our business by creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests and communities through a commitment to inclusion,” the retailer said in a statement. “Belonging for all is an essential part of our team and culture, helping fuel consumer relevance and business results.”

Some diversity experts and community leaders said Target’s actions will ripple throughout the retail industry and the supply chain because the company is considered a leader in the DEI sphere.

“While it’s unlikely there will be a significant consumer backlash ... the move could change the face of Target’s workforce.” said Louis Johnston, professor of economics at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University. “Are you going to look at the loss of DEI programs as someone who’s looking for a job and say, ‘Is this the kind of place I really want to work?’”

Jessica Lynn, a DEI strategist and CEO of Pivot Higher+, said the message sent to workers from Target is not a positive one.

“I mean these are leaders in different communities that really do drive a potential positive impact,” Lynn said about large corporations. “And each company that is doing this right now really is signaling that they aren’t truly invested in the things that they said they were.”

DEI programs give people from minority groups a pathway of opportunity that might have not existed before, Lynn said. Target has long intertwined its mission values and recruitment with DEI, she said.

“Marginalized groups who once felt supported will feel more isolated and less likely [to] take chances to get visibility for promotion,” said Lynn, adding some communities of shoppers also “will choose to invest their money elsewhere.”

Specifically, Target said it would stop participating in any outside surveys regarding DEI, including the Human Rights Campaign’s efforts. It also will shift its “supplier diversity” programs to “supplier engagement.”

The company also said it would conclude its three-year DEI goals and its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) goals initiatives in 2025. It also will continue to ensure employee resource groups are focused on development and mentorship.

It also will re-evaluate corporate partnerships “to ensure they are directly connected to our roadmap for growth.”

Target declined to provide any other details or provide any officials to discuss why the company made the moves Friday.

While it is not continuing the diversity and REACH goals, the company has come a long way in fulfilling them.

At the end of January 2024, the company’s pay equity analysis showed Target paid women and men equally, and it paid U.S. employees equally regardless of their race, according to the company’s latest Environmental, Social and Governance report.

Also, 33% of Target’s board of directors were women and 33% people of color, according to the report. Half of the company’s leadership team was also made up of women.

Another place where DEI measures show up is in Target’s executive compensation plans, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The REACH community goals made after Floyd’s death were to give $100 million to Black-led organizations and to spend $2 billion with Black-owned business, whether through marketing or supply chain.

While the company has not detailed where it is on those goals as of 2025, in its ESG report, it said Target and its foundation gave away $333 million in fiscal year 2023, and $83 million of that went to under-represented communities.

Tawanna Black, the founder and CEO of the Center for Economic Inclusion, said she considers Target a trailblazer and she believes the company will continue its diversity efforts like the REACH goals.

“The changes may allow the company to continue its DEI efforts in new ways using different language than before,” Black said.

The Center for Economic Inclusion’s biggest work, though, will not continue as companies like Target decide not to participate in external diversity surveys. The center produced in 2023 a Twin Cities report card; that effort is not continuing.

RaShawn “Shawnie” Hawkins, the senior director of HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program, said without companies participating in the Corporate Equality Index, a level of transparency will disappear.

“When companies are transparent and open about their commitment to workplace inclusion policies, it only helps to attract and retain top talent — which is why the 2025 CEI has record participation from more than 1,400 companies,” Hawkins said. “There’s no changing the fact that with 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community holding $1.4 trillion in spending power, (and) commitments to inclusion are directly tied to long-term business growth.”

Brian Cornell, Target’s chief executive, talked earlier this month at the National Retail Federation’s Big Show about Target’s culture as an inclusive one, pointing out immigrants and people of color who have made it up the ladder to leadership positions in stores and other areas of the company.

“This is really our culture in action,” he said. “We have to embrace that culture each and every day and be great role models for every part of the organization, for our guests and for our communities.”

The riots that followed Floyd’s murder destroyed Target’s Lake Street store. The company rebuilt it and opened a conversation with its employees and the community about race, pledging to help Lake Street rebuild.

By all accounts, Target has fulfilled that commitment, using pro bono consulting to help and flowing community donations into programs aiding small businesses.

The company on Friday said its business strategy will still include recruiting and retaining team members “who represent the communities” Target serves and “fuel a culture where everyone has access to opportunity and growth, enabling [the] team to deliver business results.”

Target has dealt with conservative backlash in recent years, first in 2016 after the retailer announced a policy that allowed transgender employees and customer to use any bathroom or fitting room, regardless of biological gender. After threats of a boycott, Target instead decided to add more single-toilet, all-gender bathrooms

In summer 2023, Target removed some of its Pride Month products after online complaints and some in store conflicts. That led to fewer Pride products in 2024 that were not available at every Target store like they were previously.

Nick Alm, CEO at Mossier, who has done diversity consulting with Target, praised Target for standing by its DEI policies in 2016.

But in June 2023, after the merchandise backlash, Alm saw a different response.

“The company didn’t seem to have it together on the fundamentals,” Alm said.

Anthony Chukumba, a retail analyst for Loop Capital, said he’s not surprised by Target’s decision, given the national pressure on DEI programs.

“But that doesn’t make it any less cowardly,” he said. “If you want an example of courage, look at what Costco did.”

Star Tribune staff writers Dee DePass, Patrick Kennedy, Emma Nelson and Victor Stefanescu contributed to this report.