Conservative activists are criticizing the “woke” virtue-signaling trend of U.S. corporations implementing diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the workplace, singling out retail giant Walmart for scrutiny and scorn.
Christopher F. Rufo, director of the initiative on critical race theory at the conservative Manhattan Institute, calls such policies a “ransom payment” that White executives have forfeited to avoid being canceled.
“American executives are scared of left-wing activists and write checks, launch programs and repeat slogans in order to appease them,” Mr. Rufo said. “Corporate executives have made the calculation that if they buy off the left on cultural issues, they can operate effectively.”
Gregory T. Angelo, president of the conservative watchdog group New Tolerance Campaign, said the backlash against woke corporate policies is growing among all political groups across the country.
“Wokelash is real,” Mr. Angelo said. “Americans of all political persuasions are increasingly opposed to or exhausted with businesses injecting polarizing cultural issues into their branding, hiring, and employee trainings.”
At least 10 corporations led by White male CEOs have embraced the policies, which range from racial sensitivity training to minority hiring quotas: American Express, Apple, Bank of America, Cigna, Citigroup Inc., Facebook, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Walmart.
Mr. Rufo, who has written a series of articles for City Journal about Walmart’s mandatory critical race theory training for managers, said the policies make good sense financially up to a point. Of Walmart’s nine top executives, eight are White and one is Black.
“For now, it’s a savvy business strategy,” he said. “But there is a cost to appeasement as the activists, having whet their appetite, will always ask for more. At some point, the calculation will flip.”
Mr. Angelo, a former head of the conservative LGBT group Log Cabin Republicans, says his group has sent 6,599 emails to Walmart protesting its employee diversity training.
He cited a poll from Brunswick Insight last month that found 49% of Biden voters said corporations should only engage with social issues in extremely narrow ways or not at all.
“The disconnect between stated values and actual values is never more apparent than in the hypocrisy exhibited by so-called ‘socially conscious brands,’ but there is another disconnect,” Mr. Angelo said. “That same Brunswick Insight poll showed that woke CEOs are legends in their own minds: 74% of corporate executives feel companies are speaking out effectively on social issues contrasted to a mere 39% of voters who agree.”
Melissa Hill, Walmart’s director of global communications, said the company is serious about diversifying both the company and American society.
“We are focused on creating a more diverse, inclusive team at every level and fostering a culture where all associates are engaged to achieve their potential and deliver on our customer mission,” Ms. Hill said. “We also strive to use our business and philanthropic resources to address drivers of systemic disparities in society, seeking to contribute to a collective movement to advance equity for all.”
In the race training documents that Mr. Rufo has published online, Walmart tells employees the U.S. is a “white supremacy system” in which White people “promote white supremacy thinking” that is “damaging to both people of color and to white people.”
Imparting these lessons is about more than ethics, Ms. Hill said.
“The case for diversity, equity and inclusion in business and society is widely documented and goes beyond fairness and justice,” she said. “Numerous studies have shown that diverse, inclusive businesses tend to outperform their peers, as they attract and retain talent, foster innovation and better reflect the complex character of the customers and communities they serve.”
• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.
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