<div>PEORIA – Caterpillar, Inc., has joined Harley-Davidson, Ford, Lowes, and other companies in dropping their DEI efforts.As in the other cases, the change comes after pressure from right-wing online activist Robby Starbuck. He’s been highlighting companies threatening to “expose their woke agenda.” Starbuck announced the news on his X account after reportedly talking with company executives.Bloomberg reported that it had received confirmation from Catepillar.Caterpillar spokesperson Joan Cetera told the news service that executives had talked with Starbuck and that the company had stopped participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index last year.WCBU reported that the heavy equipment maker started in Peoria before moving characters to the Chicago area and then to Texas in 2022. Caterpillar employs more than 10,000 people in the Peoria area alone.“As with anything that tries to pull us forward, there is a backlash designed to take us backwards,” said Pastor Marvin Hightower, president of Peoria’s NAACP branch. “Without intentional Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ingrained in policy, it will never be part of the culture of Caterpillar and other companies. DEI is not a hand out, it’s a hand up that’s designed to level the playing field.Major corporations have been pulling back from DEI programs through out the summer, with Tractor Supply Co. being the first high profile company to do so.</div>

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Caterpillar joins list dropping DEI

PEORIA – Caterpillar, Inc., has joined Harley-Davidson, Ford, Lowes, and other companies in dropping their DEI efforts. As in the other cases, the change comes after pressure from right-wing online activist Robby Starbuck. He’s been highlighting companies threatening to “expose their woke agenda.” Starbuck announced the news on his X account after reportedly talking with company executives.