Farm equipment manufacturer John Deere is the latest company to announce that it will no longer sponsor “social or cultural awareness” events. The move follows a trend among major U.S. companies to scale back on diversity and inclusion initiatives amid conservative criticism. The Illinois-based company also plans to review its training materials and remove any “socially-motivated messages” to ensure compliance with federal and local laws.
“The existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy,” John Deere said in a statement.
This shift echoes a recent move by Tractor Supply, which also scaled back its corporate diversity and climate efforts following online pushback led by conservative figures.
John Deere’s decision has not gone unnoticed or unchallenged. Civil rights and advocacy groups quickly voiced their concerns following the announcement. The National Black Farmers Association called out the potential setbacks to diversity and inclusion efforts in the business world.
Critics also pointed out that this decision comes one month after John Deere agreed to pay $1.1 million in back wages to 277 Black and Hispanic job applicants following accusations of hiring discrimination by the Labor Department.
