Target rolls back its DEI goals following Trump’s executive order

Target has announced it will scale back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, joining retail giant and rival, Walmart, as well as a number of prominent American brands. 

RELATED: Trump administration orders all federal DEI staff be put on leave

Target’s DEI programs

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The Minneapolis-based retailer said the changes to its "Belonging at the Bulleye" strategy include ending a program that was established to help Black employees build meaningful careers, improve the experience of Black shoppers and to promote Black-owned businesses following the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. 

Target, which operates nearly 2,000 stores nationwide and employs more than 400,000 people, said it also would conclude the diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, goals it previously set. 

The goals included hiring and promoting more women and members of racial minority groups, and recruiting more diverse suppliers, including businesses owned by people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, veterans and people with disabilities. 

Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Harley-Davison and John Deere are among the well-known consumer brands that reduced or phased out their DEI commitments in recent months.

FILE - The Target logo is displayed at a Target store on August 20, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Trump’s DEI order

President Donald Trump this week signaled his administration's agreement with conservatives who argue that policies designed to increase minority representation by considering factors such as race, gender and sexual orientation are unconstitutional. 

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending DEI programs across the federal government. The order calls for revoking all DEI mandates, policies, preferences and activities, along with the review and revision of existing employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs. 

Trump has called the programs "discrimination" and insisted on restoring strictly "merit-based" hiring.

His administration also directed all DEI staff be put on paid leave on Tuesday. Any DEI employees will eventually be laid off and the administration moved to end affirmative action in federal contracting.

RELATED: What is DEI and what do the employees do? Here's why Trump placed federal staff on leave

What does DEI mean? 

DEI stands for diversity, equity and inclusion. 

The origins of the programs date back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which, among many critical progressive moves, outlawed employment discrimination based on race, religion, sex, color and national origin. 

In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson issued Executive Order 11246 which barred discrimination in government employment and required government contractors to "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated [fairly] during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin," according to the Department of Labor. 

Executive Order 11246 requires federal contractors to promote equal opportunities for women and minorities. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) monitors compliance, including for UC campuses. 

In June 2021, President Joe Biden issued Executive Order 14035: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce to "strengthen the federal workforce by promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility." 

In the order, Biden said the purpose was to build a federal workforce that "draws from the full diversity of the Nation" and "remove barriers to equal opportunity."

The other side:


Critics argue that programs encouraging hiring based on these factors are unfair and they advocate providing the same opportunities for everyone, regardless of such factors. 

Trump's mandate revokes Executive Order 11246 contracting criteria mandating affirmative action and bars the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs from pushing contractors to balance their workforce. 

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from previous reporting by LiveNOW from FOX, FOX 5 DC, and The Associated Press. This story was reported from Los Angeles. 

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