Following backlash from consumers fed up with their focus on woke initiatives, executives at U.S. companies have cut their mentions of ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) and DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) on earnings calls by 31% from the same period last year.
Financial research platform AlphaSense reported that the decline of such mentions between April 1 to June 5 by companies represented the largest such year-over-year decline and the fifth straight quarter of year-over-year plunges, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The easiest thing to do is just to stay out of the conversation and emphasize other facets of business that are going to be perceived as less controversial and more core to the traditional metrics of the business,” Jason Jay, senior lecturer of sustainability at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Journal.
Celebration by conservatives over the decline in mentions may be premature. The Journal points out that scant evidence exists that public companies have reduced the ESG and DEI initiatives. Sustainability reports and greenhouse-gas emissions are still being discussed and executive compensation is often tied to ESG metrics.
Still, there is evidence that the backlash is having an effect. At the electronic-signature firm Docusign, sustainability initiatives, carbon-neutral status, and net-zero emissions have not been mentioned on earning calls since March 2022. Chip maker Qualcomm last specifically addressed ESG topics on an earnings call in February 2022.
Does this mean that we’ll see caucasians in commercials again?
Woke backlash. Go figure.
Very conservative teacher here. Had all that woke crap jammed down our throats for the beginning of the year ‘training’. Know how I handled it? Went through the training. Clicked the buttons. Forgot all about it. When kids asked what I did over the weekend, I always mentioned I spent my time with my family, and that we did things at church. A lot.
Never heard about any woke crap after that first few weeks of sharing that kind of stuff. The rainbow warriors and alphabet people stopped talking to me. I’m tenured, so I don’t give a crap and like it that way much better.
Funny thing is this – the kids at the end of the year told me that they felt ‘safe’ in my room. Turns out they were afraid of the woke teachers and the foaming at the mouth mob.
Long story short, stand up, be counted, say no.