John Deere Drops Diversity Initiatives
John Deere has stopped sponsoring diversity events and reviewed training to comply with laws, prompting a backlash.
Straight Arrow News
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Agricultural equipment maker John Deere announced this week that it is scaling back a series of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
in statement The company said in a statement Tuesday that it will eliminate or change several internal policies and initiatives, adding that “our customers’ trust in us is of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere.”
“We will no longer participate in or support outdoor marches, festivals, social or cultural events,” the statement read.
John Deere also announced that it will “review all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure that there are no socially motivated messages,” and will work to “emphasize within the company that diversity quotas and conscience identification have never been and are not company policy.”
DEI in the workplace: Efforts may be under attack, but many companies are not backing down from their commitments.
John Deere Focuses on ‘Consumer Confidence’
The company also announced that all employee resource groups will now focus “exclusively on professional development, networking, mentoring and supporting talent recruitment efforts.”
The announcement said the changes came as part of the company’s commitment to responding to customer feedback.
“In order to best serve our customers and employees, Deere is always listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve,” the statement said. “That’s why we continually prioritize internal policies that are most closely aligned with our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers.”
While John Deere did not address any specific customer feedback, the company was targeted earlier this month on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, by conservative activists. Ruby Starbuck.
In a July 9 post, Starbuck accused John Deere of funding child pride events, encouraging employees to include their preferred gender-based pronouns in all company communications, and forming employee resource groups focused on people of color and the LGBT community.
Social media campaigns targeting businesses in the agricultural sector
John Deere is the second agricultural company to scale back or eliminate various diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in recent months.
In June, Tractor Supply Company, a Tennessee-based retailer of agricultural goods and supplies, announced that Advertise The company has significantly scaled back DEI programs and carbon emissions goals, including eliminating all DEI roles within the company.
These changes were also followed by a weeks-long social media campaign led by Starbuck.
Many Companies Stick With DEI Programs: Survey
Despite recent moves by Tractor Supply and John Deere, 96% of corporate social impact professionals across 125 major companies say their DEI commitments have either increased (13%) or remained the same (83%), according to a new survey shared exclusively with USA TODAY by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals and YourCause by Blackbaud.
But if you think you’ve heard less about diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, you may be right. The survey found that 17% of respondents said they talk less about working with people outside their organization, and nearly a third of executives said they describe the initiatives differently.
Contributing: Jessica Guynn, USA Today
Max Hauptman is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. He can be reached at [email protected].
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