Stacey Abrams Warns Companies Dropping DEI, 'It Costs You'

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Throughout this year, we’ve seen company after company announce they’re dropping diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to comply with the Trump administration’s assault on anything that benefits anyone who isn’t a straight, white man. While DEI removals may currently be a politically expedient move, lawyer and former Georgia Representative Stacey Abrams believes businesses will face long-term consequences for abandoning DEI.

According to Fortune, Abrams talked at length about DEI during a July 11 panel at the NYU School of Law. “This notion that simply complying a little bit stops at the water’s edge is antithetical to every history we have ever written, and it costs you,” Abrams said. “It may not cost you in the short term, but in the long term.” Abrams is currently running America Pride Rises, an organization dedicated to preserving and expanding DEI initiatives across the country.

Abrams pointed out these companies are “not operating in silos,” as customers are paying attention to these moves and are choosing where to spend their dollars accordingly. “I’m also less sympathetic to multi-billion dollar corporations that are concerned about losing a few contracts when they’re willing to sacrifice whole communities for that purpose,” Abrams added.

Consumers are already showing their disapproval through consumer boycotts. Target spent much of the last decade presenting itself as an inclusive brand, supporting Black brands and LGBTQ culture. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the company announced a commitment to DEI initiatives and causes benefiting the Black community (interestingly enough, Target’s original statement announcing the commitment has been scrubbed from its website). Yet only a week after Trump’s second term began, Target announced it was ending its DEI initiatives.

Six months later, Target is feeling the backlash to the move. Target is the target of several ongoing consumer boycotts, to the point that Target revealed a first-quarter profit loss to investors in May.

Despite consumer boycotts becoming so pronounced, companies are listing them as potential risks to investors, despite executives saying DEI initiatives are a net good, and despite polls showing companies keeping their DEI initiatives have better consumer reputations, that hasn’t stopped companies from announcing they’re dropping DEI initiatives.

Only last week, mobile carrier T-Mobile announced it was dropping its DEI programs “not just in name, but in substance.” T-Mobile was seeking approval from the FCC over two acquisitions, which it received shortly after the announcement. FCC Chair Brendan Carr is currently under investigation by House Democrats in the Energy and Commerce Committee for potentially weaponizing his ability to authorize acquisitions to pressure companies into dropping their DEI programs.

While we’ve seen company after company give in to the Trump administration’s assault on progress and free speech, Abrams pointed out Costco as a company that’s continued to stand firm on its values despite the political climate. “Costco has always been grounded in this responsibility. Therefore, irrespective of the change, they never had to change their policies, they never had to promote who they were. They simply are. And we can see the distinction between Costco and other institutions,” Abrams said.

Unlike Target, Costco’s shareholders voted to maintain the company’s commitment to DEI initiatives, and unlike Target, Costco actually exceeded its expected quarterly earnings.

Wow, not alienating a substantial portion of your consumer base actually results in higher sales. Who would’ve guessed that?

Poll Shows Companies Maintaing DEI Intiatives Have Better Reputations