Deere, the world’s largest maker of farm equipment, is backing away from diversity measures in the face of criticism from conservative groups, the second agricultural company to bow to such pressure in less than a month.
Dear Said The company will not take part in any “cultural awareness parades” on social media platform X, and its business resource group will be “solely” focused on professional development, networking, mentoring and recruitment assistance.
Moline, Illinois-based Deere is the latest target of conservative commentator Robbie Starbuck, who in a July 9 online post promised to “expose” the company for being “woke.”
he Attacked The company has allegedly funded pride events, helped transgender women use women’s restrooms, encouraged employees to use gender-specific pronouns, and funded employee resource groups focused on LGBTQ people and people of color.
oh. @John Deere They made this statement in response to me exposing them.
They say that going forward, they will commit to the following:
• Defunding the Pride Parade
• Business resource groups are no longer divided by identity lines
• Audit all training materials to ensure… pic.twitter.com/jmcNc2DWpW— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 16, 2024
The social media posts were reminiscent of a similar campaign Starbucks launched last month against Tractor Supply Co. On June 27, the produce supplier Said The company is rolling back diversity, equity, and inclusion goals, stopping data submissions to the Human Rights Campaign, and rolling back its carbon emissions targets to ensure its “activities and donations are directly tied to our business” — decisions that have outraged the National Black Farmers Association and LGBTQ groups.
The social media attacks have coincided with lawsuits by conservative activists targeting diverse hiring practices, as companies have begun to downplay diversity goals in internal company documents, while some have scaled back programs meant to advance marginalized groups.
Dear’s decision Agreed The company will pay $1.1 million in back wages and interest to 277 black and Hispanic job applicants after the Department of Labor allegedly found systemic hiring discrimination at the company.
Deere’s website does not list any corporate awards it has won for its inclusive efforts, nor does it list the names of about a dozen employee resource groups, including those for women, veterans and people with disabilities. The company did not respond to questions about whether some of the groups would be eliminated.
Deere shares were up 1.7% as of 10:05 a.m. New York time.
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