Target latest company to roll back DEI programs

Story by Cheyanne M. Daniels Target has announced it is rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, becoming the latest corporation to do so following President Trump’s election. In a memo sent to employees Friday by Kiera Fernandez, Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, the retailer announced it would end its three-year DEI goals, as well as its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives. The company had already planned to end the REACH initiatives this year, the memo added. “Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy,” Fernandez wrote in the memo, which Target shared with the public. “And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future.” The company is also ending a program that focused on carrying more products from Black- and minority-owned businesses. The program was created in the aftermath of the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers. Target will also no longer participate in national diversity surveys, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which measures corporate policies, practices and...