Diversity has become something that many companies, including Starbucks, are keen to emphasize by putting new policies in place to achieve their goal.
However, the policies put in place by the coffee giants have become a problem, and the leaders are being sued for it.
The issue
Starbucks Corp executives and directors are the targets of a lawsuit filed by a conservative think tank.
The complaint stems from the belief that the coffee chain’s efforts have only resulted in racial discrimination.
The complaint
The National Center for Research on Public Policy filed a lawsuit on Tuesday opposing Starbucks’ hiring targets for people of color, outsourcing to “different” vendors and advertisers, and executive compensation tied to diversity.
According to the complaint, “benefits them personally to pose as virtuous advocates of ‘Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity,’ even as it harms the company and its owners.”
A Starbucks shareholder said the guidelines require the company to make decisions based on race, benefit minorities and violate federal and state civil rights laws.
Among the defendants are 35 current and former executives and directors, including interim CEO Howard Schults.
Starbucks and diversity
As of July 3, Starbucks had more than 34,948 stores worldwide, including 17,050 in the United States.
The coffee giant is one of many companies that have focused on diversity and education, especially after the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
Six months after his death, Starbucks announced plans to include more black, Indigenous and other people of color in order to gain opportunities for at least 30% of jobs in American companies.
The company also aims to have people of color make up 40% of U.S. retail and manufacturing jobs by 2025 and to tie executive salaries to its diversity efforts.
In January 2021, Starbucks announced plans to nearly double its annual multi-vendor spend to $1.5 billion by 2030.
The company also pledged to allocate 15% of its 2022 advertising budget to minority-owned and “targeted” media companies.
References:
Starbucks bosses sued by think tank over diversity push in the US
Starbucks executives, directors are sued over diversity policies
