A day before Target became the latest company to cave under right-wing pressure to scrap its DEI initiatives, Costco’s shareholders on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to double down on theirs.

Voters representing 98% of shares in the company agreed with the board of directors’ recommendation against a hostile measure to shed the mega-retailer’s DEI initiatives, Costco said.

Related

Costco tells shareholders not to cave under right-wing pressure to ban DEI
The country’s third largest retailer says inclusion is central to their successful business model.

“The overwhelming support of our shareholders’ vote really puts an answer to that question,” CEO Ron Vachris said, citing a statement from the board in defense of the policies.

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The measure proposing the DEI rollback was sponsored by shareholders represented by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank aligned with Robby Starbuck, a vocal opponent of corporate DEI policy who’s led MAGA-based boycotts against several companies.

In pre-recorded messages to the shareholder meeting, the group called DEI programs “illegal, immoral and detrimental to shareholder value,” adding that the term was “concealing a radical Marxist agenda.”

In response, Tony James, Costco’s board chairman, said the retailer’s programs were “consistent with the company’s values and code of ethics.”

“We have always been purposefully nonpolitical, and a welcoming workforce has been integral to the company’s culture and values since its founding,” he said.

Costco and scores more retailers have faced demands to roll back inclusive policies by Starbuck and other conservative activists and far-right allies of Donald Trump hostile to DEI and “woke” corporate practices.

On Friday, Starbuck posted a list of companies that have caved under right-wing pressure to publicly repudiate — or rename — their DEI initiatives, including Target, Meta, and McDonald’s. He made no mention of Costco shareholders’ defiance following his threat earlier this month to target the discount retailer after the board recommended a “no” vote.

“For now, I suggest conservative consumers find other places to spend their money if Costco is so dedicated to doubling down on DEI,” Starbuck posted to X. “If they’re smart, Costco will do right by their shareholders and change before we turn our attention to them.”

Costco’s DEI endorsement comes the same week Trump purged the federal government of all DEI-related programming including offices, websites, and social media accounts. Hundreds of employees associated with the initiatives were put on immediate leave and told they’d soon be fired.

Trump’s executive order described diversity, equity, and inclusion as “illegal and immoral,” the same characterization used by his allies in their unsuccessful bid to sway Costco shareholders.  

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