Companies Who Removed Their Diversity, Equity & Inclusive Policies Are Now Feeling The Boycotts
Photo provided by Miranda Duarte
DEI, Boycott, Consumers, Shopping
Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued three executive orders targeting the removal of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. Title VII is meant to protect race, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity to ensure better opportunities and fair hiring practices. Companies who have DEI policies in place ensure that marginalized populations have access to workplace equity and inclusion, while ensuring diversity in its workforce, which date back to 1965 under the Johnson Administration. Historically, DEI has been upheld by Republican and Democratic parties.
When the Trump Administration rescinded this Act through his executive order, companies like Wal-Mart, Target, and Starbucks, promptly rolled back their business’ DEI policies. Some companies like Target who had been strong supporters of DEI policies since 2020, abruptly announced their roll back of policies in 2025, due to the executive orders.
As a result of policy removals, these companies have faced severe boycotts from American consumers. Specifically, Target has experienced on-site protests, followed by a severe stock market drop of 12% after their removal of DEI policies.
On the other hand, other companies such as Costco have doubled down on upholding their DEI policies. In January 2025, Costco took a stand in defending their current DEI policies. The National Center for Public Policy Research, submitted a proposal suggesting that Costco should scale back on DEI policies to avoid potential risks. The shareholders at Costco rejected this proposal. With the board stating “ our commitment to an enterprise, rooted in respect and inclusion is appropriate and necessary.” In contrast to Target, Costco has experienced a stock market increase of 8% beginning February 2025.
At Pacific, students have access to another company who chose to no longer implement DEI policies, the Starbucks located at The William Knox Holt Memorial Library. When on-campus Starbucks Manager, Robert, was asked if he had felt the impact of a boycott by way of a decrease in sales, he indicated the on-campus location felt no significant impact. He also added that this location has not encountered any student protests. However, nationally, Starbucks has experienced a large-scale boycott resulting in a 15% drop in their stock market value.
It is still early for the Pacific Starbucks to feel any boycott effects, which may become more pronounced nationwide. For our local Stockton locations of these companies, it remains unknown if nationwide boycotts will affect these stores. If downward trends continue, we may see Target and Starbucks reconsider adopting DEI policies again, after enduring the drastic effects of the boycotts. As of now, the American consumer is speaking with their dollars and making their thoughts known on the removal of DEI policies.
Works Cited:
Bylund, Anders. “Starbucks Stock Is Down 15% This Month. Time to Buy?” The Motley Fool, 20 March. 2025,; www.fool.com
N. Danziger, Pamela. “Retailers’ Risk From DEI Policies Grows After Target And Starbucks Are Hit With Lawsuits” Forbes, 22 February. 2025, www.forbes.com
Moore, ReNika. “Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts Explained” ACLU, 24 January. 2025, www.aclu.org
Meyersohn, Nathaniel. McKend, Eva. “Target was one of the most outspoken supporters of DEI. It’s changed its tune” CNN, 3 February. 2025, www.cnn.com
Employers of Diversity. Job Seekers of Diversity. “Target’s DEI Rollback Update (Feb 2025): Comprehensive Analysis of Backlash, Legal Challenges, and Financial Implications” Diversity.com, 19 February. 2025, www.diversity.com
Zacks Equity Research. “Costco’s February Comparable Sales Show Impressive Growth“ Nasdaq, 10 March. 2025, www.nasdaq.com
D’Innocenzio, Anne. “ Costco successfully defend its diversity policies as other US companies scale theirs back“ AP, 23 January. 2025, www.apnews.com