New York
CNN
–
Tractor Supply Company has eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of what the retail chain says is a push to distance itself from “non-business activities” after backlash from some of its customers.
In a news release Thursday, Tractor Supply, which bills itself as the nation’s “largest rural lifestyle retailer,” said it will stop sponsoring activities such as “pride festivals and get-out-the-vote campaigns” and reduce DEI roles and “retire the current DEI. objectives while still providing a respectful environment.”
“We have heard from customers that we have let them down,” the company said. “We have taken this feedback to heart.”
The about-face comes less than a month after right-wing commentator Robby Starbuck attacked the company’s LGBTQ-inclusive stance and DEI’s hiring initiatives in a series of posts on X. Starbuck, who in 2022 launched a failed bid for the District 5th Tennessee Congress. urged customers to boycott Tractor Supply and contact her corporate leadership.
After the policy pivot was announced, Starbuck went back to X, calling the move a “massive victory” and “the single biggest boycott victory of our lifetime.”
Shaun Harper, a professor of business, public policy and education at the University of Southern California, told CNN one reason for the conservative backlash was that Tractor Supply failed to match its DEI policy with the culture in which it operates.
Brentwood, The Tennessee-based company, which bills itself as the largest supporter of the National FFA Organization, a nonprofit organization that supports agricultural education, has deep ties to rural communities in 49 states. Harper says Tractor Supply’s inclusion policies should have been tailored to that specific cultural context.
“You can’t say you’re going to try to do at Tractor Supply what they do at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California — that’s definitely not going to work,” he said. “It’s what I call ‘Decided DEI.’ I would say start with an emphasis on expanding opportunities for low-income people, expanding access to agriculture for women in rural contexts, and helping people understand how more women and more people of color in the industry agriculture benefits everyone. And to help them understand that diversifying the agricultural industry with women and people of color doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction in opportunities for white male farmers.
Still, activists and experts say Tractor Supply’s return is a blow against civil rights and LGBTQ+ protections for employees and customers.
“Homophobia, transphobia, sexism, gender discrimination, sexual harassment in the workplace, ableism, sizeism and racism will not eliminate themselves,” Harper said. “In the absence of good policies and programs within companies, the risk is that those long-standing problems will worsen. There will be more conflict between employees and between customers who represent different groups.”
Tractor Supply also said it will “no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign,” one of the largest non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy groups in the United States.
It was one of more than 1,300 businesses that participated in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, a benchmarking and reporting study that measures policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. In 2023, the company earned a near-perfect score of 95/100 for putting workplace protections and benefits into consideration for LGBTQ+ employees, providing comprehensive employee training, and conducting outreach to the LGBTQ+ community.
“Tractor Supply Co. is turning its back on its neighbors with this short-sighted decision,” Eric Bloem, vice president of Corporate Programs and Advocacy at Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement to CNN on Saturday. “LGBTQ+ people live in every zip code in this country, including rural communities. We are buyers, farmers, veterans and students of agriculture. Companies from every industry work closely with us to ensure that their employees and customers are respected, valued and can get the job done for their workforce and shareholders. That’s why Tractor Supply—and most of the nation’s largest employers—have worked with us for years to create comprehensive policies and practices. Targeting right-wing extremists will only hurt the very people these businesses rely on.”
The policy change is part of a broader trend of corporate swings on LGBTQ+ inclusion. In the face of anti-LGBTQ backlash threatening companies, some household brands have pulled back on their support for inclusion.
Last year, Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked an anti-trans backlash and a months-long boycott of the beer brand, during which the company failed to take a firm stance in support of Mulvaney and the transgender community. The boycott and subsequent lukewarm response cost parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev up to $1.4 billion in sales, as well as its credibility with an LGBTQ+ nonprofit.
Last month, retailer Target said it would limit the number of stores carrying its Pride-themed collection for adults after a boycott by right-wing activists last summer led to a sharp drop in sales .
While bowing to consumer backlash may seem like the surest strategy to regain revenue lost in a boycott, it can also be short-sighted. Harper argues that few companies consider the potential the cost of litigation from customers and employees.
“So much money is wasted on settlements or damages for discrimination and harassment,” he said. “I want companies to think not only about sales, but also about the cost of litigation, as well as the costs of reputation. These are the pieces that business leaders aren’t thinking about as they fold into DEI.”