Photos by Jordan Yates
Many may have seen different retailers closing in on their DEI programs lately; however, many are left surprised that their favorite bougie supermarket, Target, has disclosed that they are also choosing to roll back on their DEI programs. Target has been receiving the most pushback for their announced DEI rollback because many were under the assumption that Target was an authentic brand in terms of the fluctuation of black and brown and LGBTQ+ support in their store. In the rise of public racial injustice in 2020, Target made the initiative to advocate for the wrongdoings of George Floyd’s death in their founding city, Minneapolis, MN. This incident was in the same city where the supermarket was founded, and it made Target officials realize that this could also happen to their employees. Therefore, Target decided to refine its DEI program to better represent those in its workforce and the product inclusiveness in its retail stores. This refined initiative earned the respect of many consumers who already took pride in the company. The DEI target initiative is an eye-opener to the U.S. political atmosphere and the importance of how a company’s integrity, values, work culture, and actions are shown. It is necessary for many consumers going forward to choose who they decide to give their dollars to.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) involve more intricate parts than just merchandise representation seen in storefronts. In contrast, DEI initiatives support the workplace: diversity, averaging out the representation in leading and growing positions, and mandating work training enforcing diversity awareness and corporate misconduct. According to CNN Business, Target pledged to increase its Black workforce by 20% throughout the company. In 2023, Target’s latest workforce statistic included that their DEI initiatives have given women in the company the opportunity to be managers and leadership team members. Target’s male employees were more able to become officers and board of directors, regarding racial/ethnic diversity, Hispanics and Latinos were able to have a better average growing into managers and leadership team members, while Black employees had little to equal chance to become officers and board of directors as their Hispanic and Latino counterparts. Asian, Native, Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander, and others averaged fewer opportunities to see growth in the company. With this information, one can infer that although Target has proven that it can get more diverse DEI representation in the storefront, there is still room for growth to provide a more balanced DEI in terms of moving up in the company. Therefore, it can be helpful for most consumers to infer the company’s workforce statistics to get an idea of how the company utilizes the DEI efforts inwardly as a company.
In celebration of Pride Month in 2023, Target received backlash for supporting its Pride merchandise and decided to pause its support for the social cause. A lot of consumers were spreading misleading information on social media that a featured tuck-friendly bathing suit was strategically placed in the kids’ bathing suit section when that was not true. Many people have entered Target stores, knocked down Pride Month signage, and even threatened employees. Target proceeded to take a pause in the Pride Month’s campaign to prioritize the safety of their employees by putting Pride’s merchandise either completely off the shelves or to the back of the store in their southern retail stores. This social stance led Target to decline sales and lose its streak in the stock market, for which Florida’s attorney general is currently suing because Target did not inform its investors of the potential backlash of the campaign. Unfortunately, many pushbacks come at a stack when standing for a cause that truly aligns with one’s integrity. If one stands for what one believes, one may risk losing everything, but in the end, one’s integrity toward a cause will reach the people one is trying to serve. Consumers who have felt seen from Target’s DEI initiative are disappointed that they are not taking the opportunity to prevail in their social stance integrity.
Organizations like the NAACP are calling black consumers to buycott companies that have openly released their DEI rollback to be more aligned with brands that align with their values. According to a marketing professor, Americus Reed II, at Wharton School, “things like buycotts are going to be one of the results that I think are going to shake out, with respect to those companies that are actually going to remain true to what they claim they were in the first place.” When companies often take the initiative to publicly include more DEI initiatives in their brand, many black and marginalized individuals are concerned about whether the initiative is a genuine value or a sign of tokenism. With Target’s new DEI rollback intertwined with President Trump’s federal DEI rollbacks, it makes Target look like they never cared for the cause in the first place and needed a reason to put their façade behind them now that it may not be needed. Whether that is Target’s reasoning or not, it still was a bad look, which may further be a reason for their sales decline from these new buycott initiatives from black consumers. Many people who are undergoing social equity issues in the United States often do not have the opportunity to back out the injustices they face. Therefore, it is imperative for brands who put their DEI programs at the forefront to know the responsibilities that come with that and allow DEI initiatives to have people in leadership roles who may face these social issues to help the brand stand firm in taking a social stance with longevity.
Out of all the major retailers that have rolled back their DEI initiatives, Target may be receiving the most pushback from its consumers because the front end of its DEI initiatives seemed authentic. Many diverse designers and influencers got their products in-store, making Target’s brand feel like an inclusive space for many. Although at face value, Target’s storefront products are more diverse and inclusive than ever before, there is still room for opportunities to leverage more diverse groups and the opportunity to be in more leadership and growing positions. With the rollback of their DEI efforts from their previous Pride month backlash, they are messing up their opportunity to continue making their brand an inclusive and diverse environment inside the workforce and outside for the public eye. Now that Target is receiving pushback from investors and previous die-hard consumers wanting to buy from them, it will be interesting to see if Target will remain a reputable brand in the long run. In addition, it may be difficult for many diverse consumers to trust Target if it decides to apologize and take back their no longer stance to keep their DEI initiatives as their top priority.
This back-and-forth battle between rioters, mad investors, and once-supporting consumers should be a lesson for many people and organizations to develop a sense of integrity in the workplace and the importance of not budging on one’s core values due to monetary gain. Money will come and go; however, the impact we leave on others will be the moments that leave a lasting impression on others.
