Chick-fil-A is receiving an onslaught of conservative ire after the company’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiative spread across social media according to a report from Newsweek.
“One of our core values at Chick-fil-A, Inc. is that we are better together,” reads the company’s website, which now includes a DEI section.
“When we combine our unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging, we can discover new ways to strengthen the quality of care we deliver: to customers, to the communities we serve, and to the world.
We understand that getting Better at Together means we learn better, care better, grow better, and serve better.” Approximately 80 percent of United States employers have DEI initiatives, according to Corporate Compliance Insights.
Brands like Bud Light and Target have recently experienced backlash and market shifts due to boycott efforts after the beer partnered with transgendered activist Dylan Mulvaney and Target released “tuck-friendly” swimsuits, that allow trans women who have not had gender-affirmation surgery to conceal their genitals, ahead of LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June.
Chick-fil-A’s DEI page does not specifically mention LGBTQ+ persons, however. Chairman Dan Cathy, son of company founder S. Truett Cathy, made headlines in 2012 when his views on homosexuality, including his opposition to gay marriage, became public.
The Daily Wire had contacted Chick-fil-A about their ESG and DEI efforts earlier this year and sent another request for comment on Tuesday, specifically asking whether the emphases on employee and supplier diversity could prompt the company to overlook talented candidates.
The firm created an evaluation of “top ESG issues that internal and external stakeholders expect to grow in importance in the next five years” for a recent sustainability report, which included “climate and energy stewardship” and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
“While Chick-fil-A has long been committed to supporting our communities and being a responsible steward of all that is entrusted to us, companies like ours are increasingly expected to help address complex social and environmental challenges, especially those that most affect our industry,” the company said in the document.
Another sustainability report published last week likewise cited the firm’s commitment to diversity, noting that Chick-fil-A established a steering committee to provide insights for DEI initiatives and seeks to make diversity “an integral part of our culture of care.”
