By California wants shoppers to buy products made in the Golden State. But a state-run directory is drawing criticism for reportedly helping customers choose businesses by their owners’ race, sex and sexual orientation—with no corresponding search categories for white-owned or male-owned companies.
The ownership filters put an identity-politics twist on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Made in California campaign, which promotes the state’s manufacturers and connects them with potential buyers. According to screenshots highlighted by writer Christopher Rufo, the directory offers eight ownership classifications: Asian-Owned, Black-Owned, Hispanic-Owned, LGBTQ-Owned, Native American-Owned, Pacific Islander-Owned, Veteran-Owned and Woman-Owned.
“The California state government has released a ‘Made in California’ website that allows you to select products by every identity group except for one: white men,” Rufo wrote on Twitter, according to the supplied account of his October 14 post.
The California state government has released a "Made in California" website that allows you to select products by every identity group except for one: white men. pic.twitter.com/7ykttZghXD
— Christopher Rufo (@christopherrufo) October 14, 2026
The distinction is in the search categories: none specifically identifies white-owned or male-owned businesses. That does not establish that white men are barred from the directory, and some could fall within the veteran-owned or LGBTQ-owned categories. The state’s published eligibility requirements focus on manufacturing activity and where a product’s value is created, rather than an owner’s race or sex.
Newsom launched the campaign August 28, presenting it as a way to turn California’s reputation into a commercial advantage. The governor’s office said participating manufacturers would gain visibility with consumers, retailers, investors and state and federal contractors—a potentially valuable benefit for smaller companies without large marketing budgets.
The governor promoted the initiative again Wednesday during a visit to Voltage Multipliers in Visalia, where he presented the advanced manufacturing company with a program license. His office described the campaign as a means of helping businesses find customers, pursue contracts, attract investment and compete for shelf space.
Administered by the California Office of the Small Business Advocate within GO-Biz, the program allows qualifying companies to display an official state label. Businesses must add at least 51 percent of a qualifying product’s wholesale value in California through manufacturing, assembly, fabrication or production. Participation fees are waived through December 31, 2026.
The controversy reflects a broader problem with diversity, equity and inclusion policies that have increasingly made race, sex and other immutable characteristics central to decisions once based on merit. What began as an effort to expand opportunities has often turned into a system that sorts Americans into favored and disfavored identity groups. California’s directory brings that same logic to the marketplace, where the government is encouraging consumers to consider who owns a business rather than simply what it produces.
It is also a reminder that the ideas behind the first wave of woke politics have not disappeared, even as corporations, universities and government agencies retreat from the DEI label. The original promise of treating people fairly regardless of race or sex has given way to a system in which identity itself becomes a qualification. California could have promoted its manufacturers on the strength of their products, workers and craftsmanship. Instead, the state has imported the divisive logic of DEI into a campaign ostensibly designed to unite Californians behind their local businesses.
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