By: Daniel Cameron – wsj.com – December 4, 2024

The corporate giant joins others walking back woke policy.

For more than 20 years, the Human Rights Campaign, which describes itself as “the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization,” has used its Corporate Equality Index to advance its progressive agenda in corporate America. The index releases a survey each year that serves as a benchmarking tool to evaluate how well companies support woke issues. But there is good news for American companies thinking about turning the page on radical activism.

The decision not to submit a survey is a smart business move. Walmart is creating value in the marketplace for its customers and shareholders while still serving as a great employer and good corporate citizen. The only difference is that it is walking back from partisan ideology.

Walmart joins Tractor Supply, John Deere and others that have withdrawn from the controversial scorecard. Many more, such as Lowe’s, Ford, Caterpillar and Boeing, have publicly committed to scaling back diversity, equity and inclusion objectives in favor of neutral policies that don’t alienate most of their workforce, customers and vendors.

Since starting its index in 2002, the Human Rights Campaign’s demands have steadily increased, raising the bar for companies to achieve a perfect score. As a result, many companies forced DEI training on employees, donated millions to progressive causes, pushed their employees to donate to far-left efforts, and publicly advocated progressive legislation at the local, state and federal level. The index’s long and expanding list of criteria has moved so far to the left that to receive a perfect score companies must now cover the cost of sex-change surgeries for children. Companies lose points if they support religious liberty, give to conservative causes, or back what the Human Rights Campaign deems bad legislation.

American corporations don’t have to yield their corporate governance to any activist group. The era of virtue signaling is over. We are entering a new age of good, sound business decisions. Walmart, Tractor Supply and John Deere are leading the way. Others should join.

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Source: Walmart Says Goodbye to DEI – WSJ