Corporates should embrace common sense amid anti-woke backlash

The diversity, equity and inclusion movement is on the ropes as businesses go back to basics.

- Lin Suling

As a sign of the pushback against progressiveness, look no further than the formation of a new fund unveiled on Dec 5 by US asset management firm Azoria Partners seeking to raise US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) by end-2025.

Its coverage? S&P 500 index companies, with the exception of those with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures.

Starbucks has been singled out.

Named the Azoria Meritocracy exchange-traded fund, it's been called "anti-woke", something the company's CEO James Fishback doesn't deny. "A few dozen companies embraced anti-meritocratic hiring practices," he said at the fund's launch.

A SIGN OF THE CHANGING TIMES

Mr Fishback is a Donald Trump supporter, and the announcement was made at Mar-a-Lago, both of which make the move seem more of a publicity stunt.

But other signals suggest that the tide is turning as resentment against the DEI movement festers, amid growing doubt over whether such initiatives truly foster inclusive workplaces and provide fair opportunities for everyone.

The pushback may also seem politically motivated and driven by the brazenness of conservatives emboldened by a Trump win on the surface.

One of the most popular political advertisements widely credited for advancing Trump's campaign against Vice-President Kamala Harris was a video with the message that "Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you".

But the disenchantment goes way beyond partisan politics.

It runs wider, as fewer Americans think focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, down from 60 to 52 per cent in a Pew Research Centre survey that ran in February 2023 and then again.

Now that tide may be supercharged by a string of corporations throwing in the towel, as they wake up to the idea that the criteria for the best person for the job shouldn't include provisos or exceptions.

Walmart has dialled back on DEI measures.