AFA accused the retailer of yielding to a “radical homosexual agenda.” Walmart responded by withdrawing from the chamber. The national right-wing Christian American Family Association called for a nationwide Black Friday boycott. It also co-sponsored an annual convention of “Out & Equal,” a group that promotes equality in the workplace.īut the company quickly caught flack. In 2007, Walmart courted the so-called “Lavender Marketplace” by paying $25,000 to join the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. “And when we opened a Walmart Express in a Chicago neighborhood which is predominately gay, our PRIDE group had involvement with selecting product assortment.”
“Associates there, as well as in our Tulsa market, recently held a ‘Coming Out’ day,” she said. She said Walmart PRIDE has recently expanded beyond Northwest Arkansas, to include colleagues at the company’s e-commerce headquarters in San Bruno, Calif., home to. “Our company has an inclusive environment where they do feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work,” said Sharon Orlopp, Walmart’s chief diversity officer. Meanwhile, a few dozen gay associates quietly organized Walmart PRIDE. Hispanics, Asians, blacks, women, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders formed affinity groups.
Two years later, corporate associates were encouraged to organize cultural and ethnic resource groups - support groups to enhance professional development and to foster a sense of community. Another woman reported that after coming out, she was written up, then terminated for what she said was a minor infraction.įears eased in 2003, after Walmart set diversity goals and expanded its workplace nondiscrimination policy to include sexual orientation. A transsexual said she presented as male to hide her true identity. Ten years ago, when queried about bias at company headquarters, one lesbian said she kept a photo of a fake husband on her desk to dispel suspicions. Rumors circulated that if you came out, you faced being fired.
For minorities and especially elders, the claim may be true, although complaints about glass ceilings and low wages remain ubiquitous.īut in the early days of Walmart, being gay meant working in the closet. Walmart claims diversity has been at the core of its culture since Sam Walton opened his first discount center in Arkansas in 1962. “So I believe it is Sam’s charge for us to dream bigger, to make tomorrow’s actions much larger, more innovative more challenging - and much better.”