5 Reasons Everyone Is Unhappy With Target’s DEI Stance
These are the main storylines to better understand the current state of Target’s DEI program.
The timeline of events has left just about everyone feeling unhappy with Target’s stance on DEI.
The DEI Program At Target
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See Also: Best Buy Quietly Dropped DEI Goals From Its 2024 Report
Target’s DEI Timeline
1) May 2023: Target removes some Pride Month products
“We are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community” the company said in a press release.
2) Oct 2023: Target promotes Chief DEI Officer (but removed Diversity, Inclusion from the title)
Kiera Fernandez was the “Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Senior Vice President HR” from June 2020 to October 2023.
In October 2023, she was promoted to “Executive Vice President and Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer.”
Notably, “Diversity & Inclusion” was dropped from the title.
At the same time, Lindsey Peterson took on the title of “Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” and holds the role to this day.
Bottom line: There are two ways to view this change:
- The company stripped “Diversity & Inclusion” from the head of DEI’s title. Or…
- The company downgraded the head position from “Executive Vice President” to “Director.”
3) May 2024: Target scales back Pride Month merchandise
According to an NPR story, “Target says it will no longer sell its 2024 Pride Month collection in all of its stores following last year’s conservative backlash over its LGBTQ+-themed merchandise.”
4) Dec 2024: Court blocks Target’s attempt to dismiss DEI shareholder suit
According to HR Dive, “America First Legal filed the lawsuit, Craig v. Target Corp., against Target and its board of directors in August 2023, claiming the board had misled investors about the financial risks of its DEI and ESG practices.”
A district court in Florida blocked Target’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
5) Jan 2025: Target ends DEI goals and removes its DEI web page
In a press release titled, “Target’s Belonging at the Bullseye Strategy, the company outlined five ways it would be reducing its DEI policy:
- Concluding our three-year diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
- Concluding our Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives in 2025 as planned.
- Ensuring our employee resource groups are communities fully focused on development and mentorship. These communities will continue to be open to all.
- Further evaluating our corporate partnerships to ensure they are directly connected to our roadmap for growth.
- Stopping all external diversity-focused surveys, including HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.
- Evolving our “Supplier Diversity” team to “Supplier Engagement” to better reflect our inclusive global procurement process across a broad range of suppliers, including increasing our focus on small businesses.
At the same time, Target took down its DEI web page. The old page now redirects to the generic “Belonging at the Bullseye” page.
Result: Lower foot traffic, boycotts, and lawsuits.
Here’s where Target finds itself today:
Retail Brew says foot traffic is down.
- On the week beginning January 27, foot traffic fell 4% YoY
- February 3: it fell 8.6%
- February 10: it fell 3.9%
- It was the first drop in foot traffic this year for Target
ABC Chicago reports that there are Target boycotts planned.
On the other side, Business Insider reports that the shareholder lawsuit continues.
Summary
Target has significantly reduced its stance on DEI, including taking down its DEI web page and ending specific DEI-related goals.
The company, however, still does have a DEI team in place.
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