Lowe’s is the latest company to dial back on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies for the LGBTQ community as conservatives target queer representation in the public eye , NBC News reports.
The home improvement retail chain giant told employees in an internal memo that it was ending participation in surveys for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S. As the latest company to alter its diversity programming following the Supreme Court’s 2023 groundbreaking decision to make affirmative action unconstitutional in college admissions, the memo also said the retailer started to review its programs shortly after the ruling and decided to combine resource groups, targeting minority employees, into an umbrella organization.
It also announced it would end sponsorship and participation in community events like parades and festivals in reference to Pride. The Mooresville, North Carolina-based company sponsored the Pride parade in Charlotte back in 2019.
According to The Associated Press, the changes came to ensure that Lowe’s policies are “lawful” and aligned with its commitment to “include everyone.”
“We may make additional changes over time,” the company’s leadership team said. “What will not change, though, is our commitment to our people.”
As other companies are seemingly addressing DEI as a whole, Lowe’s appears to be specifically targeting LGBTQ representation. Receiving high praise as a DEI champion under the leadership of African American CEO Marvin Ellison since 2018, HRC gave the company a perfect score in the corporate equity index that examines policies that protect LGBTQ workers.
Ellison has been an outspoken advocate for social change regarding racism since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. In June 2024, Ellison received the title of Ethical Leader of the Year by the Society for Human Resource Management, the largest HR organization in the country.
Lowe’s is one of many companies that made changes to its inclusion policies in 2024, following motorcycle manufacturer Harley Davidson and farm supply companies Tractor Supply and John Deere. Home appliance giant Best Buy also fell victim to policy change after the New York state comptroller, who manages the state’s $207 billion public pension fund—with investments in the store—questioned the company’s commitment to inclusivity and support of the LGBTQ community.
Critics of DEI policy reversal have taken to social media to blast Lowe’s decision, including HRC. Its Senior Vice President of Programs, Research, and Training, Orlando Gonzales, labeled the changes as “shortsighted decisions contrary to safe and inclusive workplaces” and expressed concern over creating a “snowball effect of negative long-term consequences.”
He continues to take specific aim at video streamer and right-wing online activist, Robby Starbuck, who is celebrating policy changes on social media as well as taking credit for them.
On Aug. 26, the streamer claimed he received an email from a Lowe’s executive in response to a warning he sent the company, threatening to “expose” its “woke” policies.
“We’re now forcing multi-billion dollar organizations to change their policies without even posting just from fear they have of being the next company that we expose,” Starbuck wrote. “We are winning, and one by one, we WILL bring sanity back to corporate America.”
Lowe’s spokesperson Steve Salazar denied those allegations.
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