Molson Coors ditches DEI practices
USA | It is a watershed moment. Molson Coors said it has scrapped its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and is taking a “broader view”, in which all employees know they are welcome. The beer and beverage firm is the latest addition to a growing list of US companies turning their back on woke capitalism.
The conservative activist and filmmaker, Robby Starbuck, has been leading a campaign to expose major corporations, which embrace left wing policies. He said on 3 September on X (formerly Twitter) that Molson Coors sent him a letter, which its leadership team had circulated to employees, to explain the changes after he threatened executives with a boycott.
In the internal memo, which became public on 6 September, Molson Coors said it will be getting rid of supplier diversity quotas, adding that they can be “complicated and influenced by factors outside of [the company’s] control.” Molson Coors also said its DEI employee training is complete and that it will no longer have specific “representation goals” in its hiring process.
On top of that, the Canadian-American multinational said it will stop participating in the ranking programme by the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy group, that scores companies on how inclusive their workplace practices are toward the LGBTQ+ community.
The new stakeholderism
Molson Coors’ decision comes after a wave of firms, including Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Ford and Jack Daniel’s whiskey maker Brown-Forman, over the summer, stepped back from their progressive workplace programmes.
They all seem to fear becoming the next AB-InBev, whose Bud Light brand lost its title as the bestselling US beer. The brewer had partnered with a transgender influencer in a marketing campaign in spring 2023, which led to a massive consumer boycott.
Leading the campaign against companies that have a base of conservative consumers and yet subscribe to DEI policies, has been Mr Starbuck. He has taken to digital media to rile up his over 500 000 followers in calling for boycotts.
He is not alone. There are also conservative legal activists like Edward Blum and Stephen Miller, who have filed lawsuits and regulatory complaints over programmes they argue unfairly benefit traditionally marginalized groups at the expense of others.
Corporate DEI practices received renewed interest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, but have struggled in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to overturn affirmative action in colleges.
Although the reversal of affirmative action concerns academic institutions and has no legal bearing on businesses, companies are concerned that the growing anti-woke sentiment will bleed into corporate America.
Confidence in Big Business has waned
As the 2024 presidential election draws closer, a recent Gallup survey found that only 38 percent of Americans believe businesses should take positions on current events, a ten-point decrease from 2022.
Even groups who were previously keen on firms speaking out on all kinds of political and social issues, are now considerably less likely to say so. In 2022, 75 percent of Democrats thought businesses should take a stand; over the past two years, their number has decreased to 53 percent. Over the same period, support among Asian and Black adults for corporate activism has also dwindled.
