Walmart, the nation's largest private employer, rolls back DEI under pressure

Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, is the latest company to make changes to its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives under pressure from a conservative activist.

The retail giant said it would not renew a racial equity center it created following the 2020 murder of George Floyd and it would no longer participate in an annual benchmark index from LGBTQ+ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign.

Robby Starbuck said he warned Walmart last week he was working on a report about “wokeness.” According to Starbuck, the company then engaged in “productive conversations” to make changes.

"Removing wokeness from Walmart has both downstream effects on suppliers and it sets the tone for corporate America," Starbuck told USA TODAY. "Changing the normal operating policy at a nearly $1 trillion company is a gargantuan feat that many have tried to achieve but no one until now has actually been able to get done.”