'We Will No Longer Attend Cultural Awareness Festivals': Another US Company Joins Microsoft In Axing DEI Policies

Amidst a continued rise of companies scrapping their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and teams, American agricultural manufacturing company John Deere has no longer attended cultural awareness events or initiatives. The company's move to distance away from DEI policies comes after it was reported that Microsoft also laid off a DEI team earlier this month.

John Deere's announcement comes after a viral video from American filmmaker Robby Starbuck was released, blasting the company for its so-called "woke" initiatives, including funding a pride event dedicated to kids and even criticising gender and race identity groups in the corporate setting.

How John Deere Is Steering Away From DEI Policies

A statement posted by John Deere on its official X account stated that it will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events. Moreover, its Business Resource Groups will focus exclusively on professional development, networking, mentoring, and supporting talent recruitment efforts.

It has also stated that it will audit all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages while complying with federal, state, and local laws. It has also committed to reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification has never been and is not company policy.

"We fundamentally believe that a diverse workforce enables us to meet our customers' needs best, and because of that, we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organisation," the company stated.

They added, "We remain committed to listening to our customers, employees, and other key stakeholders. Your trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere, and we fully intend to earn it every day and in every way we can."

John Deere's primary consumer base is farmers, primarily known to lean towards conservative political views. In recent months, many farmers have renewed their commitment to vote for Trump despite rising trade woes with China that may affect the agricultural supply chain in the country. However, a growing number of American farmers are switching to Biden for fear of being affected by Trump's past agricultural reforms that have not been "friendly" to rural farmers.

A Slew of DEI Cuts–Including Microsoft

John Deere's recent move to avoid its DEI efforts also follows a report from Business Insider, which noted that Microsoft has recently laid off a DEI team, citing "changing business needs."

An email sent by a team leader to thousands of Microsoft employees who were affected stated, "True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020."

The change is a far cry from what Microsoft had promised in 2020, whose DEI initiatives are directly related to improving diversity efforts following the brutal death of George Floyd. The tech giant also promised back then that it would double the number of Black leaders within the company by 2025, though no concrete progress has been made.

A spokesperson for Microsoft stated, "Our D&I commitments remain unchanged. Our focus on diversity and inclusion is unwavering, and we are holding firm to our expectations, prioritising accountability, and continuing to focus on this work."

Apart from Microsoft, several tech giants have also tried to cut down costs related to DEI. In February this year, Zoom fired a DEI team as it resorted to working with external consultants to help their employees engage in inclusion measures. Moreover, Google and Meta have also cut DEI roles in 2023.

If DEI Is Beneficial, Why All The Cuts?

Data from Adfero has stated that the individuals' support of industries and businesses is impacted by a company's actions or inactions around DEI. Despite significant investment and conversation around DEI, the report suggests that most respondents are seeing, hearing and reading little about DEI from critical industries like tech, healthcare and energy.

It is also worth noting that amidst continued backlash from conservative audiences regarding the implementation of DEI initiatives amongst companies, global employment and law firm Littler has pointed out that nearly three-quarters of C-suite leaders indicated dealing with politically controversial matters in the workplace has grown difficult, implying that employers are under pressure from all sides regarding DEI.

"The lack of alignment in the C-suite suggests an opportunity for increased communication across roles to minimise legal risks and allow for the effective implementation of [DEI] programs," Littler told HR Dive.

With continued DEI cuts amongst companies, there has also been a significant dip in companies investing with external consultants to improve inclusivity measures. Data from Culture Amp notes that the percentage of businesses that hired outside DEI consultants dropped sharply from 66% in 2023 to 47% in 2023. Many HR and people teams need this outside expertise to effectively utilise innovative methods and best practices in their DEI projects.