Lowe’s Is The Latest To Cave To Anti-LGBTQ Groups

Home improvement giant Lowes is the latest retailer to reduce its public support for LGBTQ inclusion thanks to a far-right conservative-led campaign to target queer representation. Right-wing online activist/QAnon nutjob Robby Starbuck has been leading the charge against corporations’ inclusivity policies. On Monday, he tweeted that his threat to “expose” Lowe’s “woke” policies is what led to this change.

Lowe’s becomes latest company to dial back DEI efforts aimed at LGBTQ groups https://t.co/EzwFAqxXJh

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) August 27, 2024

From NBC News:

In an internal company memo being widely shared among media organizations, Lowe’s told employees it was ending its participation in surveys for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group, and would also combine company resource groups designed to support minority employees into one umbrella organization.

The company said it would also end sponsorship and participation in community events such as parades, festivals, or fairs — a reference to pride parades.

As recently as 2019, Lowe’s was a sponsor of Charlotte, North Carolina’s pride parade.

This follows similar announcements from Harley Davidson, Jack Daniel’s, Tractor Supply, John Deere and Best Buy. Prior to this change, Lowe’s was viewed as a diversity champion earning a perfect score in HRC’s most recent corporate equity index. (feature image via Depositphotos)