Costco, the world’s largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine (as of August 2024) has become the latest global brand to brave an anti-DEI onslaught. Costco, a global giant in the wholesale sector, has more than 900 warehouses worldwide. Costco also entered Newsweek’s “America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2025” list, along with Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, ALDI and Target. In 2024, its revenues increased by 5% (from 2023) from US$254.5b.
The onslaught faced by Costco against its DEI policies is expected to be resolved during the shareholders’ vote on Thursday, January 23.
The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) is leading Costco’s anti-DEI call. NCPPR, a think tank, criticized Costco for possible “illegal discrimination” against employees who are “white, Asian, male or straight” due to its DEI.
NCPPR submitted a shareholder proposal that Costco conduct an evaluation and publish a report on “the risks of the company maintaining its current DEI roles, policies and goals.”
“DEI holds litigation, reputational and financial risks to the company, and therefore financial risks to shareholders” NCPPR suggested.
The Board of Directors strongly voiced their support for Costco’s DEI stance.
In response to NCPPR’s call, they declared:
“Our success at Costco Wholesale has been built on service to our critical stakeholders: employees, members, and suppliers. Our efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion follow our code of ethics: For our employees, these efforts are built around inclusion — having all of our employees feel valued and respected. Our efforts at diversity, equity and inclusion remind and reinforce with everyone at our Company the importance of creating opportunities for all. We believe that these efforts enhance our capacity to attract and retain employees who will help our business succeed. This capacity is critical because we owe our success to our 300,000 employees around the globe.”
Costco’s pro-DEI battle is unlikely to be the end to the anti-DEI wave that has been gathering steam lately. In the US the anti-DEI proposals submitted by shareholders -similar to NCPPR’s- doubled in 2024 (to 30) compared to 2023 (15 proposals).
The anti-DEI proposal thrown at Costco is just one proposal among them…
