Should Employers Take Positions on Social and Political Issues?

With a wide range of distrust and misinformation circulating, voices of company leaders operated as beacons of light during times of darkness and ambiguity.

Learning how to navigate hot-button issues surrounding the pandemic was just the beginning. Over the next 18 months, more than
11,000 protests against racial injustice broke out across the U.S. alone. The protesters called for the nation—with a focus on employers—to start addressing urgent sociopolitical issues regarding racism and bias. 

In a 2019 Gartner study of more than 30,000 people worldwide, 87 percent of employees said businesses should take positions on social issues that are relevant to their business. 

Additionally, a 2021 survey of members of the
Society for Corporate Governance found that 45 percent of the 125 CEOs who responded felt compelled to speak out on social, political and environmental issues, and 14 percent said other officers or directors made such statements. 

Employers that choose not to get involved are more likely to see adverse effects on their workplace culture and bottom line. And when it gets to that point, it’s difficult to make up for the lost time. They’ve lost trust and credibility. When business leaders speak up for women’s rights or against violence targeting minority groups, on the other hand, they create a firm foundation for their diversity, equity and inclusion strategies to stand…