“It is not the role of the institution to express an opinion.”
This sentence comes from a statement on institutional neutrality approved by the University of Pennsylvania’s senior leadership. Officials in the country have made it clear that they will no longer speak publicly on sociopolitical issues.
The deeply polarized response to the Israel-Hamas war is at the heart of this issue, but universities are not the only ones moving toward neutrality. Other organizations choose to remain silent rather than take sides or comment on major political issues.
That’s very different from the energy that has been the norm for the past five years or so.
“We’ve really seen an increase in CEOs speaking out and taking positions on everything from climate change to immigration to human rights,” said Alison Taylor of New York University, who heads the Ethical Systems Think Tank.
But there are new risks in this red-versus-blue hothouse. For example, diversity in the workplace.
Tequila Herradura and Jack Daniel’s distiller Brown-Forman has backed away from its diversity efforts. So are Ford, Lowe’s and Tractor Supply. They are under pressure from conservatives with threats of lawsuits and the anthem “Wake Up, Bankrupt.”
But research shows that many employees, many of them young, don’t want to work for companies that remain silent on important issues, from systemic racism to climate change. And for some companies, incorporating politics into their brand can work well.
“People decide it’s on brand and that’s who I want to spend my money with,” said Eric Van Steenberg, marketing professor at Montana State University’s Jake Jubbs College of Business. he said. “If you’re a small business, or a start-up, or a company that’s starting to build a brand around things like that, they want to be a climate change company. Or they want to be an entrepreneurial company. That’s what I think.
Let’s take Patriot Mobile as an example. The company is a mobile phone company that has long held conservative politics as its banner.
“We’re a mobile phone service provider, and we’re a really good provider,” Patriot Mobile CEO Glenn Storey told a conservative rally in June. “But here’s the deal: Our mission is all about defending freedom and glorifying God.”
When we tried to talk to Patriot Mobile about the brand’s stance, the interview went cold after initial contact.
On the other side of the aisle, Wisconsin-based spice retailer Pensie’s is emailing customers great deals on oregano and barbecue rubs, which also expresses dissatisfaction with Donald Trump.
After federal charges against the former president were reinstated in August, Pensey wrote in an email: “I feel great about being re-indicted.” Coincidentally, Kamala Harris entered a Penzys in Pittsburgh ahead of last month’s debate, where she hugged supporters who were clearly overwhelmed by a difficult election.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at a Pensey’s Spice store in Pittsburgh in September. (Mandel Gunn/AFP via Getty Images)
The photo shoot prompted an onslaught of “wake up, go bankrupt” comments and negative Yelp reviews directed at Pengy’s, which has faced right-wing ire before. Marketplace didn’t know anything about Harris’ visit this summer, and repeatedly reached out to Penzey’s with questions about the brand and politics, but again received no response.
“I’m not really concerned about how companies adjust or adjust their communications in a toxic public space. I can hardly blame them,” she says, adding that brands align with their values. said Elsie Maio of Soul Branding, which supports the project.
“We have started paying less attention to what is said than what is actually done,” she added.
Practical actions like real estate site Zillow adding climate risk numbers to its home listings last month.
Maio says smart companies now understand that they are part of a system that is no longer isolated from climate, community, etc., and that to succeed they must act on their values. claims.
“Milton’s old system is not fit for purpose in the hyper-interdependent systems environment we currently find ourselves in,” she said.
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