Deere backtracks on DEI commitments
Deere & Company is the latest business to back down on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in response to online criticism.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist and filmmaker, alleged in July that several companies—including Tractor Supply and Deere—had gone “woke” and were supporting activities ranging from Pride events to gender-neutral bathrooms.
In a statement posted on X, Deere writes:
“Our customers’ trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere. We fully intend to earn it every day and in every way we can.”
The company goes on to say it will cease participating in “cultural awareness parades” and other similar activities. Meanwhile, its employee resource groups will be reshuffled to focus solely on “professional development, networking, mentoring and supporting talent recruitment,” rather than forming based on identity-based groupings. In the statement, Deere also refutes the notion that it had “diversity quotas or pronoun identification” measures in place.
Deere’s pivot away from touting its DEI and inclusion appears to be swift. According to Bloomberg:
“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 move from Deere, which comes on the heels of Microsoft cutting into its DEI efforts, signals a trend of businesses backing away from bold commitments made amid the U.S.’s widespread racial reckoning of 2020. How these cuts will play out—whether in terms of profits or PR—remains to be seen.
