As the debate around the US Election heats up, reigniting the culture wars, John Deere has announced that it will pull external social or cultural awareness events like pride marches and parades.
The news came in a post to X in which the brand announced that “the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy” and that it would “no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events”.
Our customers’ trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance to everyone at John Deere. We fully intend to earn it every day and in every way we can. pic.twitter.com/8BgyPyQJQo
— John Deere (@JohnDeere) July 16, 2024
The company did say that it is not abandoning diversity efforts entirely, adding that it “fundamentally believes that a diverse workforce enables us to best meet our customers’ needs and because of that we will continue to track and advance the diversity of our organisation”.
The $61 billion-a-year company has been publically slammed for sponsoring a Capital City Pride’s Little Rainbow Run that reportedly caters for kids as young as three, and encourages staff to use “preferred pronouns” in an attempt to become more “inclusive”.
The campaign against John Deere’s policies was led by former producer and director turned conservative politician, Robby Starbuck who took to social media to call out the company’s “woke” policies.
Starbuck also recently led a campaign against Tractor Supply, an American home improvement brand taking aim at initiatives to prioritise diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that they are “putting more of a focus on race that divides us”. Shortly after the campaign against them emerged, Tractor Supply announced that it had eliminated its diversity, equity, and inclusion roles and goals entirely.
“We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them,” the brand said in a statement posted on X. “We have taken this feedback to heart”.
Statement from Tractor Supply pic.twitter.com/ZMweR8JVuy
— Tractor Supply (@TractorSupply) June 27, 2024
The company also announced that it would no longer submit data to the LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and would shift its focus to “rural American priorities,” including education and veterans causes, and would no longer sponsor “nonbusiness activities like pride festivals and voting campaigns.”
“John Deere, another company that relies on conservative customers, has also gone woke,” Starbuck said in a video in which he claimed the company’s policies were “worse than Tractor Supply”.
“John Deere seems to have forgotten who their customers are,” Starbuck said.
In the wake of John Deere’s announcement, Starbuck posted a series of screenshots of the news with the message: “Wall Street is on notice. Corporate America is afraid of YOU. I’m just your instrument. Every woke company is wondering if they’re next”.
Wall Street is on notice. Corporate America is afraid of YOU. I’m just your instrument. Every woke company is wondering if they’re next. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wI5fFmvbP1
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 17, 2024
