Apple and Costco defending DEI proves companies can fight back against GOP
Consumers can make their voices heard online and at brick-and-mortar stores
From retail to technology, team captains are choosing which side of the argument they want to be on in regard to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) jobs and multiculturalism programs. Although Mark Zuckerberg, who was present for Trump’s inauguration ceremony yesterday, ended his own DEI programs with Meta, Facebook and Instagram users are still left raising an eyebrow.
Why? Maxine Williams, the company's chief diversity officer, confirmed that Meta will still have MRGs and BRGs for Black employees’ “worker-led communities that foster a sense of belonging and togetherness among colleagues.” It’s not quite the same financial initiative as a DEI job program; it sounds more like the kind of programs predominantly white institutions (PWIs) create for recruiting Black students and then finding Black people on campus to make them want to stay.
Recommended Read: “From PWI to HBCU: Why I fled ~ College, and threat of expulsion, made my naivete about racism disappear”
Other companies have been more abrupt with their DEI job programs, slashing them altogether after pressure from conservative political commentator and activist Robby Starbuck. Companies that backed down when criticized for being receptive to multicultural programs include Ford Motor Company, Lowe’s, Microsoft and Walmart.
Some consumers in the Black and Brown communities may have not even known that there were diversity programs for other organizations Starbuck went after. Prime example: Harley-Davidson, which was apparently a corporate member of the Wisconsin LBGT Chamber of Commerce and had a business relationship with the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group.
However, other companies are responding with “not so fast” energy, including Apple and Costco.
Jeff Raikes, co-founder of the Raikes Foundation and former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has served on Costco’s board of directors since 2008. And in his opinion, businesses should be “maximizing” DEI instead. Several Costco board members turned down a shareholder request to dismantle DEI internally. Although a surprise to some for standing up against the Starbuck rant, Raikes insists that scaling down DEI in businesses would harm the economy.
And Apple’s board apparently agrees. They’ve asked investors to vote against a proposal to end its DEI programs. Apple's directors reportedly said the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) proposal is “unnecessary because [Apple already] has appropriate checks and balances in place.”
Recommended Read: “The Zeros Are Aplenty For Apple's Net Worth”
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, who was also in attendance next to Zuckerberg for the inauguration, faced heat for DEI programs with Amazon. And the lines still appear to be blurred with Amazon too. Although there have been complaints about the lack of minority leadership, the e-commerce company still has a prominent DEI page boasting about its impact in business. Additionally, DEI-supportive customers can still filter and buy items from underserved communities — black-owned businesses, women-owned businesses, military-family owned, Native-Hawaiian and Pacific Islander owned-businesses and LGBTQ+-owned businesses, among others.
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While the American public will have to wait and see what comes of pro-DEI companies while Donald Trump is focused on picking fights with the World Health Organization (a significant helper of the COVID-19 crisis to keep citizens informed, vaccinated and understanding how serious this outbreak was) and doing a 180-degree turn regarding “saving TikTok,” consumers can show where they stand by financially and vocally supporting organizations that don’t require their entire staff and management to exclusively look like Trump’s Cabinet.
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