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Several companies have walked back DE&I initiatives in recent months, but a new survey from LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign (HRC) found that these rollbacks could negatively impact how the companies are perceived by the LGBTQ+ community.
The majority (80%) of the 2,432 LGBTQ+ US adults recently surveyed by HRC said they would boycott a company if it rolled back its DEI efforts. Furthermore, half of respondents said they would encourage others to also boycott such a company.
HRC also found that ending DE&I initiatives may hurt the employer-employee relationship. Nearly three-fourths (72%) of respondents said their employer walking back its DE&I efforts would make them feel less included or accepted, and 19.6% said they would either quit or start looking for another job.
Some 7.6% of US adults identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, and according to the breaking HRC press release, they have $1.4 trillion in buying power. But Molson Coors yesterday said it’s changing its approach to employee resource groups and ending DE&I training for employees. It joins companies including Harley-Davidson, Lowe’s, Ford, and Brown-Forman that have, since the start of the summer, announced similar changes to DE&I efforts that impact LGBTQ+ workers, such as no longer participating in HRC’s corporate equality index, which evaluates company policies and benefits.
The changes come amid a broader DE&I backlash led by conservative activists, including Robby Starbuck. Yet DE&I and LGBTQ+ experts believe these decisions will hurt LGBTQ+ workers and could ultimately make them less safe on the job, HR Brew previously reported.
“Attacks on DE&I initiatives are shortsighted and make our workplaces less safe and less inclusive for hard-working Americans of all demographics and backgrounds,” Orlando Gonzales, SVP of programs, research, and training at HRC, said in a statement. “This new data confirms that companies like Molson Coors, Ford, and others that abandon their values and backtrack from commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion risk losing both top employee talent and consumer dollars.”