20 May 2022 Is the Tide Turning on Corporate Wokeness?

“More than a few executives appear to be glimpsing the high costs of politicized corporate management,” writes Free Enterprise Project Director Scott Shepard in his latest commentary for Real Clear Markets.

“Woke is revealing itself as a barnacle, and companies are responding accordingly,” Scott continues. “The revelation is being assisted, and the response hastened, by external events that have uncovered even to the unthoughtful what should have been clear: taking a highly partisan role in American politics will engender (and is engendering) a political response from those who oppose the partisan stance.”

The column expands on instances in which woke posturing has backfired on corporations, and recent indications of a turning tide.

“Exhibit one is the case of DeSantis & Florida v. Chapek & Disney,” Scott writes. “Exhibit two: Disney’s reputation has declined substantially.”

Scott also explains how Netflix and Discovery – amid pressure from their plunging stock prices – appear to be learning from Disney’s missteps.

Scott also breaks down the more nuanced case of BlackRock, which has announced that it will support fewer climate-catastrophist proposals, but is still one of the main sources of ESG and corporate wokeness.

To read the full piece, click here.