The move comes after US President Trump ended DEI hiring in government jobs and encouraged the private sector to do the same.
Target is ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programme along with other equity initiatives, the retailer has said, becoming the latest US firm to pull back these policies, meant to boost racial and ethnic representation in workplaces.
Target said on Friday it was rolling back programmes aimed at promoting racial equity, called the Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives, this year.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump issued a sweeping executive order directing federal agencies to terminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, encouraging private companies to do the same.
Companies have been focused on the diversity of their workforce for decades, but contemporary DEI initiatives took off after nationwide protests in 2020 over police shootings of unarmed Black people.
Over the last year, however, several major companies, including Walmart, Amazon, and Meta, walked back their DEI policies in the face of public pressure and after the November election victory by Trump, who has long criticised DEI initiatives.
“Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Target’s chief community impact and equity officer Kiera Fernandez said in a memo, adding that it was important to stay in step with the “evolving” external landscape.
In 2022, Target…