Walmart, Once Eager to Promote Diversity, Pulls Back Amid Conservative Pressure

In June of 2020, as protesters spilled into the streets after the murder of George Floyd, Walmart’s chief executive, Doug McMillon, promised action.

In a blog post, he said that “slavery, lynching, the concept of separate but equal … have morphed into a set of systems today that are all too often, unjust” and promised to address systemic racism by establishing a Center for Racial Equity that would give out $100 million in grants over five years. He also pledged to make changes within the company and “actively shape our culture to be more inclusive.”

Four and a half years later, Walmart is sending a different message, pulling back on some of those initiatives for diversity, equity and inclusion, known as D.E.I.

As a result of the changes, the company will stop sharing data with the Human Rights Campaign, a nonprofit that tracks corporate L.G.B.T.Q. policies. Third-party merchants will no longer be able to sell some L.G.B.T.Q.-themed items, such as chest binders, on Walmart.com that could be marketed to children. It will no longer use the terms D.E.I. and Latinx in official communications. And Walmart will not renew the Center for Racial Equity, the philanthropic initiative that Mr. McMillon announced in 2020, when the agreement expires next year.

Robby Starbuck, an anti-D.E.I. activist and a social media influencer, declared the changes a victory on Monday. In a post on social media, Mr. Starbuck said that he had told executives at the company that he was working on a story about “wokeness” at Walmart, but that instead the two sides had “productive conversations” to make changes “before Christmas when shoppers have very few large retail brands they can spend money with who aren’t pushing woke policies.” A spokeswoman for Walmart confirmed the changes, some of which were already in motion.

“We’ve been on a journey and know we aren’t perfect, but every decision comes from a place of wanting to foster a sense of belonging, to open doors to opportunities for all our associates, customers and suppliers, and to be a Walmart for everyone,” the company said in a statement.