A Costco board member has taken aim at companies rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion policies, calling for businesses to "maximize" DEI instead as the wholesaler faces pressure to join the growing list of brands ditching the controversial practice. Jeff Raikes, co-founder of the Raikes Foundation and former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has served on Costco's board of directors since 2008, according to Costco's corporate website.
While businesses began to announce their departures from DEI policies last year, Raikes urged companies to expand such practices at work, insisting that scaling down DEI in businesses would harm the economy. In a November post about the decline of DEI, Raikes argued, "Attacks on DEI aren’t just bad for business—they hurt our economy. A diverse workforce drives innovation, expands markets, and fuels growth. Let’s focus on building a future where all talent thrives.
In a subsequent post from March, Raikes shared a column he wrote for Forbes where he urged the private sector to "lead the way in encouraging diversity, equity, and inclusion in America’s workplaces" and called on businesses to buck the anti-DEI trend and instead "maximize DEI efforts" at work. He blamed "opportunistic politicians" for trying to "frighten and divide" the country by "making DEI a dirty word.