Johannesburg - Woolworths South Africa has maintained it was undeterred and remained determined to 'leave no one behind' in spite of receiving criticism and calls for the boycott of Woolworths stores following the launch of its WPride campaign in support of International Gay Pride Month.
The retail giant recently came under fire online after launching its WPride campaign as it joined the global community in celebrating International Gay Pride Month – which is annually marked in June.
Pride Day, celebrated on June 28, is filled with celebrations, parades, and festivals, with people rejoicing and honouring the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) communities, sharing their joy and supporting their rights.
In spite of this, some people blasted Woolworths for its campaign and called for retail shops to be boycotted to protect children.
"Seems to me Woolworths is blocking most of SA on Twitter because people are trying to protect their children from this pride s**t. Remember Spur, Dis-Chem, welcome to the same crap; people, me included, will boycott the bejesus out of Woolworths," posted one disgruntled tweeter.
@GreenSpear added: "@WOOLWORTHS_SA, vile campaign, nothing worse than the LGBQT agenda."
Even with the negative comments, Woolies’ press office said that by and large, the response to its campaign had been largely positive and appreciated the support from many South Africans who shared the company's vision of a better future.
The retail giant said it takes its responsibility to build diverse, inclusive, and safe environments for all people and customers around the world seriously.
"We are committed to promoting spaces in which everyone is accepted, protected, respected, and celebrated, regardless of where they come from, what they look like, who they love, or how or whether they worship. During International Pride Month, our WPride campaign acknowledges the extent to which certain groups in our society are marginalised by celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community.
"The WPride campaign forms part of the Woolworths Inclusive Justice initiative, a group-wide strategy aimed at realising our bold transformation vision to inspire inclusive growth for all our people and our commitment to ‘leave no one behind’."
Woolworths added that the Inclusive Justice initiative was a natural evolution of its Good Business Journey and its belief that the retailer was so much more than simply a business.
"We believe our organisation plays a crucial role in the lives of our employees, their families, our suppliers, and the communities in which we operate. Our business has always been a cause for good. For change. For making a difference.
"Our social media guidelines are clear; we don’t allow hate speech and discrimination on our social pages, and we’re doing our best to ensure our online communities are welcoming to all."
Other Twitter users also supported the retailer's sentiments on remaining committed to diversity and inclusiveness for all, just as @Lindels01 tweeted: "How does putting rainbows on things give me dignity? Asking as one of the communities. I have my own dignity. I don’t need anyone to give it to me. I don’t need clothing signalling that I’m not straight. Who cares? What does it have to do with anyone?"
"Thank you for your support of the LGBT+ community, @WOOLWORTHS_SA. I’ll be wearing my Pride socks and T-shirt proudly as I take to the stage with the Johannesburg Queer Chorus tonight. Wish you could see us perform!" added @JonoBKirk.
The Star