Ross (Dress for Less) is a wildly popular store that has an array of products; over the years, it has become a popular budget shopping option. In part due to great prices (especially for occasional designer scores), Ross has become a shopping staple for Black families. While saving big time is never a question when shopping at Ross, the chain is getting questioned for where its loyalty lies as far as their DEI policies go.
Now, more than ever, Americans are feeling the impacts of the Trump administration’s ban on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. An almost domino effect has taken place as companies make their stance well known. At the same time, consumers are starting to pay more attention to the decisions of companies they have shopped with for years. Ultimately, every individual can make decisions on whether or not to continue shopping with companies that chose to scale back or eradicate their DEI initiatives. A significant responsibility that comes with freedom of choice is staying informed. Keep reading as we put the spotlight on Ross to answer at least a few of the big question on consumers’ minds.
Does Ross Support DEI?
The confusion on whether or not Ross and many other companies support DEI has come from the drastic changes of the administration. People are taking to social media to broadcast and investigate the stances of their favorite companies – there are even daily updates online which track which companies are doing what. The mounting pressure has even impacted Ross, which was once a favorite store for many minority communities across the country.
After people sought to understand the company’s stance, they were met with confusing results. Ross has been under scrutiny for the last week for an out of date DEI commitment from 2023. This lack of a public statement or updated statistics is raising questions and red flags for some, especially considering the retailer has a big portion of customers with minority backgrounds and identities.
This lack of solid information led to an apparent lack of customers in stores, despite Ross’ long history supporting DEI. Some store associates and shoppers even posted videos of their local locations as empty as they have ever seen it. Even on the store’s corporate social media accounts there are comments from consumers condemning them for the assumed change in DEI policies.
In response to this, Ross has had to take a proactive stance. They have put links to their DEI page on their website in their corporate social media bios. The company has also been correcting misinformation about their policies one comment at a time. While many shoppers are still under the impression that Ross has changed their stance on DEI, people are slowly realizing that no change has been made. So, yes, Ross does support DEI and apparently never changed that commitment.
What Does Ross’ Support For DEI Mean For Black Consumers?
Black shoppers who were hesitant to pull up to their local Ross can now comfortably browse their aisles. Some lovers of the store are actually transitioning to shop there more instead of shopping at stores which have not stuck with DEI. Moves like this follow the very public downfall of other big retailers like Target, which have seen the devastating impacts of switching up on their DEI commitments. Despite some companies’ outstanding amount of Black History Month products, not all of them are putting their money where their mouth is. Ross has stood out among the rest. The company has also avoided being cancelled by a big portion of inclusion-minded consumers by sticking with DEI.