Deere backs down from diversity initiatives after online attacks

Deere & Co., the world’s top farm machinery maker, is pulling back from diversity measures in the face of conservative criticism, the second agriculture-related company in less than a month to bend to such pressure. Deere will no longer participate in “cultural awareness parades” and its business resource groups will focus “exclusively” on professional development, networking, mentoring and supporting talent recruitment, it stated on Tuesday on the social media platform X. Moline, Illinois-based Deere is the latest target of Robby Starbuck, a conservative commentator who in an online post on July 9 promised to “expose” the company for having “gone woke.” Starbuck attacked Deere for allegedly funding a Pride event, supporting the use of women’s bathrooms by trans women, encouraging workers to use gender-based pronouns and funding employee resource groups dedicated to LGBTQ people and people of color. The social media posts mirrored a similar campaign against Tractor Supply Co. last month by Starbuck. On June 27, the farm goods supplier said it would retire diversity, equity and inclusion targets, stop submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign and withdraw carbon emission goals in an effort to ensure its “activities and giving tie directly to” its business. Its decision prompted anger from the National Black Farmers Association and LGBTQ groups. John Boyd, president of the National Black Farms Association, previously called for the resignation of Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton, telling CNN that the company is “sending the wrong signal to America at the wrong time in history.” The NBFA, which represents 130,000 Black farmers across the country, also criticized Deere’s action, saying the company “continues to move in the wrong direction in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion.” The group in a statement Wednesday called for the resignation of CEO John May and a boycott of the company. Attacks on social media have dovetailed with lawsuits from conservative activists who’ve targeted diverse hiring practices. Companies have begun to downplay diversity goals in corporate filings, while others have scaled back programs meant to encourage the advancement of marginalized groups. On Monday, Business Insider reported that Microsoft laid off an internal team focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Tractor Supply likely will benefit from its move, according to a survey Mizuho Securities conducted with more than 250 of the retailer’s customers, as 78% of them reported a more positive viewpoint of the company after the changes. “While controversial in and of itself, we believe moves by senior management may have course-corrected any significant and abrupt sales dropoff seen at other consumer companies in recent history,” Mizuho analyst David Bellinger said of Tractor Supply. Deere’s decision comes just one month after it agreed to pay $1.1 million in back wages and interest to 277 Black and Hispanic job applicants after the Department of Labor alleged that it found systemic hiring discrimination at the company. A list of corporate awards Deere won for its inclusiveness no longer appears on the company website, nor do the names of about a dozen employee resource groups, including those devoted to women, veterans and people with disabilities. The company didn’t respond to questions about whether some of the groups would be eliminated. —Bloomberg News with contributions from Ad Age Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

Deere backs down from diversity initiatives after online attacks

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