Supporting Statement: The Company has spent significant resources and attention on implementing DEI policies into workplace practices and hiring. These efforts include the Company’s “Partner Networks,” which “are partner-led groups that bring together people with shared identities and experiences, along with allies, to promote a culture of inclusion…”[1] All agree that every employee should feel welcome, but there is much disagreement about how to achieve that goal. Although employee “Partner Networks” theoretically sound like a good way to achieve the goal of “inclusivity,” all they really achieve is exclusivity. Membership in such groups is often based on surface-level characteristics such as race, sex, and sexual orientation. In fact, Starbucks boasts a dozen partner networks, with more than half being grounded in surface-level characteristics. These groups include the Black Partner Network to focus on the “African diaspora,” the Hora del Cafe to focus on the “Latinx culture,” the India Partner Network to focus on the “growth of the India market,” the Indigenous Partner Network to “preserve and celebrate Indigenous cultural values,” the Pan-Asian Partner Network to “elevate the impact of Pan-Asian partners,” the Pride Network to “cultivate an equitable, dynamic and supportive environment for LGBTQIA2+ partners,” the Welcoming Refugees Alliance to “empower and advocate for refugee partners,” and the Women’s Impact Network to “ignite the power of women.”[2] While Starbucks also has Networks that focus on the Armed Services, the disabled, and sustainability, it only has one group that actually focuses on performance: the “Next at Starbucks” group, to “support and empower the next generation of Starbucks leadership.”[3] Starbucks has no Partner Networks, though, for any “non-diverse” groups. This is particularly a concern given the many programs Starbucks has established to facilitate disparate treatment in hiring and promotion against the “non-diverse.” Under equity theory itself, this gap indicates the existence of systemic discrimination against the non-diverse at Starbucks. The content of the current Partner Network groups’ recommendations and activities would further substantiate that claim and would help to demonstrate if there’s systemic discrimination by viewpoint at Starbucks. Accordingly, we request the report consider the rights and interests of all employees and groups to ensure that the Company does not alienate individuals who lack certain “diverse” qualities in the name of “inclusivity.”