Tractor Supply Co. backtracks on DEI roles and goals

Tractor Supply Company has eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of what the retail chain says is a push to distance itself from “nonbusiness activities” after conservative backlash from some of its customer base.

Tractor Supply Company has eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of what the retail chain says is a push to distance itself from “nonbusiness activities” after conservative backlash from some of its customer base. In a news release Thursday, Tractor Supply, which advertises itself as the country’s “largest rural lifestyle retailer,” said it will stop sponsoring activities like “pride festivals and voting campaigns” and would be cutting DEI roles and “retire (its) current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment.” “We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them,” the company said. “We have taken this feedback to heart.” The about-face comes less than a month after right-wing commentator Robby Starbuck attacked the company’s LGBTQ-inclusive stance and DEI hiring initiatives in a series of posts on X. Starbuck, who in 2022 launched a failed bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District, called on customers to boycott Tractor Supply and contact its corporate leadership. After the policy pivot was announced, Starbuck took to X again, calling the move a “massive victory” and “the single biggest boycott win of our lifetime.” Shaun Harper, a professor of business, public policy and education at the University of Southern California, told CNN one reason for the conservative backlash was the fact Tractor Supply failed to tailor its DEI policy to the culture in which it operates.