Nordstrom, Victoria’s Secret, Macy’s Join Purge of DEI Terms (2)

Big retailers are shifting how they talk about diversity efforts in reports to shareholders, joining other companies in changing their goals to “inclusion and belonging” instead.

Nordstrom Inc., Victoria’s Secret & Co. and Macy’s Inc. all removed some references to diversity, equity and inclusion from their 10-K annual reports on Friday. Their actions reflect a cross-industry move rejecting diversity language—including the acronym DEI—amid President Donald Trump’s directive in January to clamp down on certain corporate diversity efforts.

Macy’s didn’t include a section on diversity this year; last year its 10-K said, for example, that its commitment to DEI “is guided by its values and starts from within to enhance diversity and inclusion across all levels of our organization.” Macy’s didn’t immediately provide a comment.

Nordstrom also omitted some references to diversity that were in its report last year. This year, Nordstrom said it’s “committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone, with an emphasis on creating fair and consistent practices and policies.”

Nordstrom didn’t provide a comment, but highlighted a section of its report that says: “We have learned from generations of experience that building diverse teams representing all our customers is the most effective way to fulfill this purpose and grow a successful business.”

Victoria’s Secret last year gave specifics about diversity such as recommending diverse interview slates and “sending women and people of color to programs dedicated to the development” of diverse leaders. That specific language doesn’t appear in its 10-K this year, but the business did say it’s “committed to recruiting, retaining and advancing top talent that represents a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.” It also referred to “robust career development programs, mentorship and leadership training.”

The company added this year that: “By championing shared success, investing in talent and fostering an inclusive workplace, we unlock the full potential of our teams.”

“We are steadfast in our commitment to inclusion and belonging because it’s foundational to our company and to a high-performance culture,” Victoria’s Secret said in an emailed statement. “It’s the right thing for our people and business and ensures we continue to thrive in a competitive, global marketplace. We will continue to have the best talent with diverse perspectives driving our business to its fullest potential while being fully compliant with the law.”

The changes are the latest examples of a trend in which companies have tweaked or cut diversity disclosures and programs in response to conservative attacks on such practices.