(Reuters) – Home improvement retailer Lowe’s has eliminated some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, becoming the latest U.S. company to change policies aimed at boosting racial and ethnic representation.
Lowe’s will no longer participate in investigations by the Human Rights Campaign, a transgender rights group, and is also consolidating its various business resource groups that represent diverse employees into a single umbrella organization, an internal memo obtained by Reuters showed on Monday.
The company will not sponsor or participate in community events such as parades, festivals or fairs and may also make additional changes to its policies over time, according to the memo, which was confirmed by a company spokesperson.
In recent years, American companies, including JPMorgan Chase, have faced a greater conservative backlash against diversity initiatives, which intensified after widespread protests following the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in 2020.
The protests have highlighted racial and gender disparities in corporate leadership.
Since 2021, some companies have received letters from public shareholders claiming that their DEI programs constitute unlawful discrimination and a violation of directors’ duties to investors.
Groups opposed to diversity policies have also been energized by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision that struck down affirmative action in college admissions decisions.
Lowe’s began reviewing its diversity and inclusion programs around the same time, according to the memo.
(Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
