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Civil rights organizations urge major companies to maintain commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives

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A diverse group of civil rights organizations joined forces on Thursday to urge CEOs and board members of leading companies to stand firm in their commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have faced challenges online and in legal actions. In an open letter endorsed by 19 organizations and aimed at Fortune 1000 company leadership, the groups asserted that companies retracting their DEI programs are failing in their duty to employees, consumers, and shareholders.

The signatories of the letter included prominent civil rights groups such as the NAACP, the National Organization for Women, the League of United Latin American Citizens, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Emphasizing the business rationale and widespread support for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, the organizations highlighted the push by a small, heavily funded faction of right-wing activists to compel companies to abandon their DEI measures.

Several companies including Ford, Lowes, John Deere, Molson Coors, and Harley-Davidson recently revealed plans to scale back their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies following pressure from conservative groups emboldened by recent legal wins.

In the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling last year deeming race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions unconstitutional, numerous corporations have been reassessing their diversity initiatives. Numerous lawsuits have raised similar objections regarding employers. Critics of DEI programs argue that such initiatives offer advantages to specific races or sexual orientations while marginalizing others.

The civil rights organizations contended in their letter, which counted UnidosUS, the Urban League, Advocates for Trans Equality, the National Women’s Law Center, and the American Association of People with Disabilities among its supporters, that disengagement from DEI efforts would risk alienating a wide array of consumers.

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