- Toyota has become the latest automaker to cut back on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
- The company appears to want to avoid a “highly politicized discussion” about the issue as well as possible boycotts.
- A protest targeted the company last month, but a spokesperson said the impact was “negligible.”
The culture wars came for Ford’s Very Gay Raptor and eventually killed it as the automaker made their promotional video private and scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. At the time, a memo blamed the shift on an “ever-changing external and legal environment related to political and social issues.”
Fast forward to today and the pride parade is coming to an end at Toyota. According to Bloomberg, the automaker has decided to stop sponsoring LGBTQ events and will “refocus” their DEI programs. Citing a memo sent to employees, the publication is reporting the move comes as a result of the “highly politicized discussion” around corporate DEI initiatives.
More: Ford Is Scaling Back Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives
However, there could be more to the story as a conservative activist targeted the company in September and his video received 5.1 million views on X as well as nearly 16,000 likes on Instagram. It attacked Toyota for an assortment of efforts including alleged funding for “all ages” pride events as well as “woke DEI training” and “custom cars with a trans flag.”
Despite this, it appears few people took action as a spokesperson told the publication the impact was “negligible” as roughly 30 customers contacted their call center about the issue. A few dealers also reached out as did employees, who reportedly made a “few hundred queries.”
Regardless of what caused the change, it’s a sizable shift as the automaker recently proclaimed “D+I [Diversity and Inclusion] is a journey we are committed to continuing. Diversity of thought, backgrounds and perspectives makes us a stronger company” while “inclusion invites all voices to help better meet this era of rapid change.”
While Toyota is pulling back on some community efforts, they’re not stopping things altogether. Instead, they’ll reportedly focus on STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math] education as well as workforce readiness.
