NEW YORK – The daughters of one of Target’s co-founders have voiced their concerns regarding the company’s recent decision to retract certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that have faced opposition from conservative groups and government officials. In letters featured in publications such as The Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times, Anne and Lucy Dayton expressed their dismay over the company’s actions, emphasizing their father’s legacy in creating a retail giant that prioritized customer focus and community welfare.
Bruce Dayton, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 97, played a pivotal role alongside his brothers in transforming a Minneapolis department store into the expansive brand known as Target. In their correspondence, the Dayton sisters underscored their worry about how swiftly the corporate sector appears to capitulate to political pressures. “We are alarmed how quickly the business community has given in to the current administration’s retaliatory threats,” they stated. They contended that businesses should be allowed to operate according to their ethical beliefs, asserting, “It is not ‘illegal’ for a company to create a business model based on what it believes to be important ethical and business standards.”
The sisters further remarked that by retracting these initiatives, companies like Target risk compromising the foundational principles that have contributed to their success. As of now, Target has chosen not to provide a statement regarding these criticisms.
Earlier this year, Target announced that it would be modifying its “Belonging at the Bullseye” strategy, which includes discontinuation of a program aimed at aiding Black employees’ career development, enhancing the shopping experience for Black customers, and supporting Black-owned businesses. This initiative was established after the tragic police killing of George Floyd in 2020. The retailer, which operates almost 2,000 locations and employs over 400,000 people in the U.S., indicated that the dissolution of this program was scheduled for this year, alongside a decision to phase out established DEI objectives previously set in three-year intervals.
Target is not alone; other major brands such as Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, Goldman Sachs, and John Deere have similarly scaled back or eliminated their DEI commitments in recent months, reflecting a growing trend in the corporate landscape.
