John Deere recently launched a list of initiatives to significantly scale back its focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The farm equipment company noted that its various efforts are an attempt to better match the interests of its customers instead of following the rest of corporate America in adopting a progressive internal agenda.
Over the past few years, particularly after George Floyd’s death in 2020, many companies have scrambled to demonstrate their commitment to social causes, such as making commitments to enhance DEI programming for their employees, hiring more diverse candidates, etc. However, recent reports have indicated that companies are beginning to scale back these efforts just a few years later.
John Deere released a statement earlier this week stating that it is committed to evaluating its “internal policies that more closely align our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers.” The manufacturer also expressed that it would no longer engage in politicized issues such as “social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.”
The statement gave a brief overview of the company’s history and mission, reading, “John Deere was founded in America’s heartland nearly 200 years ago by an entrepreneur deeply committed to delivering innovative products to his customers. We’re proud of this legacy and it continues to drive us today. We deeply value our more than 80,000 global employees who work every day to deliver superior products to our customers. It takes the best people and the best teams to solve our customers’ biggest challenges.”
The message continued, emphasizing that it always prioritizes the interests of its customer base and employees. “To best serve our customers and employees, Deere is always listening to feedback and looking for opportunities to improve. That’s why we consistently prioritize internal policies that more closely align our business strategy to meet the needs of our customers,” it said. The following are some of the new commitments John Deere outlined:
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We will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events.
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Business Resource Groups will exclusively be focused on professional development, networking, mentoring, and supporting talent recruitment efforts.
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Auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages, while being in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
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Reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.
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We fundamentally believe that a diverse workforce enables us to best meet our customers’ needs and because of that we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organization.
In a similar move, farming-related company Tractor Supply Co. also backed down from some of its progressive initiatives amid backlash from conservative activists exposing its woke agenda. The American Tribune reported on the news which conservatives have celebrated as a win among the other companies that have pulled back on similar efforts.
“Going forward, we will ensure our activities and giving tie directly to our business,” the company said. The farm equipment retailer listed several resolutions that would address the conservative backlash, such as eliminating DEI efforts in the company, abandoning carbon emissions goals, and more. Watch a former Space Force Officer who was allegedly fired over remarks on DEI below:
Featured image credit: Radosław Drożdżewski (Zwiadowca21), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mannheim_-_John_Deere.JPG
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