Lowe’s Pulls Back On DEI Initiatives, Tells Employees It Will No Longer Sponsor LGBTQ+ Events

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Lowe’s is making some major changes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. The home improvement chain, headquartered in Charlotte, sent a memo to all of its employees saying the company will no longer participate in LGBTQ+ events.

The Associated Press obtained the internal memo from Lowe’s. The memo says Lowe’s began reviewing its programs after the United States Supreme Court decided to bring an end to affirmative action in June of 2024.

The memo says Lowe’s will no longer participate in the annual survey by the Human Rights Campaign. That survey measures a company’s inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees. Lowe’s also told it’s employees that it will no longer participate in or sponsor LGBTQ+ events like parades and festivals.

The memo also shows that the retailer has decided to combine its individual resource groups into an organization under one umbrella. This means no matter what diverse group an employee belongs to, their safe space will now be shared by all Lowe’s employees.

The decision by Lowe’s to pull back on DEI policies has left some HR professionals in shock. Brandi Riggins owns a DEI consulting firm called Simply B Consulting. Riggins helps businesses diversify their work force. She says Lowe’s isn’t the first company to walk back inclusive policies and it likely won’t be the last.

“A lot of people are rolling these back because of the affirmative action laws that just came out,” Riggins said.

Thanks to the United States Supreme Court’s decision, Riggins believes more and more companies are now adjusting to the new rules.

“I was really disappointed and disappointed because it erodes trust of the employees that are currently there,” Riggins said.

Charlotte Pride responded to the company’s decision in a press release condemning the corporate retreat from DEI initiatives. Charlotte Pride says Lowe’s has been a long time supporter of the pride community, and it urges the retailer to recommit to diversity initiatives.