Let’s never be taken in by corporate marketing claims about “our values” again. Under capitalism corporations will throw anyone under the bus whenever they stand to make more money by doing so.
Always been that way. Corporations aren't benevolent. These DEI initiatives would have never been implemented in the first place if these companies weren't making even more money on the back end.
But now here's the thing. Trump has successfully made DEI initiatives political battery acid. He is also in control of the government. And his supporters have already been shown to be willing to back up their anti-DEI initiatives with boycotts that are actually effective and impact their bottom lines (See Budweiser and Target as prime examples), along with a willingness to physically show up and cause a scene when they walk into a store and see a rainbow display somewhere (there are about eleventy zillion examples of this on Youtube).
There's also another unfortunate fact to consider. The people who make these decisions aren't the ones who have to deal with the fallout. They get to sit in their corporate offices. It's Judy, the 16 year old cashier that happens to be the first person some GOP bigot saw when he walked in the store that has to take the brunt of it, while also being the least equipped person to do so. And these people aren't above using violence. I would not be surprised if at least some of the reason these companies are ditching DEI initiatives is to protect the safety of the rank-and-file employees.
Given the direction the political winds are blowing, the fact that Republicans know how to organize and pull off an effective boycott, and if all else fails are willing to commit acts of violence to get their way, it's not a big surprise that companies are trying to run away from DEI initiatives at warp speed. There's no more profit in it for them. In fact, it probably is going to do more harm than good. It puts employees at risk of retaliation. It's no surprise that companies are deciding it's no longer worth the hassle.
