Brown-Forman, University of Kentucky gut DEI initiatives

After the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in 2020, something shifted in the world — at least for a little bit. Conversations surrounding race and LGBTQ+ equality infiltrated family dinner tables and corporate boardrooms across the United States. Four years later, the once touted DEI initiatives are being cut.

Last week, Bourbon powerhouse Brown-Forman, the parent brand of Jack Daniels, Old Forester and Woodford Reserve, quietly deleted its DEI page on its website and, according to a leaked email, informed employees that the company was going to stop linking executive compensation to progress on DEI initiatives and remove its supplier diversity program. Bloomberg reports that 10% of executive compensation is directly linked to those DEI goals.

As a big blow to the LGBTQ+ community, Brown-Forman also said it would end its participation in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index survey, where they have scored 100 percent for several years. However, Brown-Forman’s internal culture initiatives such as LGBTQ+ and BIPOC employee resource groups will not be affected.

Brown-Forman hasn’t released an official statement to the press, but they have confirmed the authenticity of the leaked email. 

We launched our diversity and inclusion strategy in 2019. Since then, the world has evolved, our business has changed, and the legal and external landscape has shifted dramatically, particularly within the United States. 

With these new dynamics at play, Brown-Forman adjusted its work to ensure it continues to drive our business results while appropriately recognizing the current environment in which we find ourselves.

Brown-Forman joins a slew of companies and universities reversing their DEI programs, including the University of Kentucky.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto told staff last week that the university would disband its Office for Institutional Diversity, moving its programs and initiatives to other offices that “support the entire institution.”

Louisville Public Media reported that Capilouto specifically referenced legislative efforts earlier this year to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and offices at public universities — an effort that fell short at the end of the session.

He said that “legislators have made clear” to him that DEI at public universities will come up again next year. It’s already been a topic of discussion during interim committee meetings, where a legislator questioned why there aren’t more “activities for whites” at public universities.

The HRC is attributing the DEI backtracking of several companies across the United States to right-wing commentator, Robby Starbuck.

Eric Bloem, HRC Foundation’s VP of Programs and Corporate Advocacy said in a statement last week that companies should not be cowering to a random guy with zero business experience who is a political bully and election denier.

“Hastily abandoning efforts that ensure fair, safe, and inclusive work environments for LGBTQ+ people based on manufactured outrage from MAGA bullies is bad business and leaves their employees and millions of LGBTQ+ allied customers behind,” Bloem said. “With nearly 30% of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding $1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.”

Starbuck has also been attributed to other companies disbanding their DEI programs, including Tractor Supply, John Deere, and Harley-Davidson. Tractor Supply said it would also stop submitting data to the HRC, halt Pride sponsorships, and eliminate DEI jobs.