The rise of corporate populism and what it will mean for Aussie work culture
US companies are cosying up to Donald Trump before he returns to the White House next week by ditching targets linked to climate change, diversity and inclusion.
This week, we looked at:
But first: Last week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg added Meta’s name to the list of major American employers who have retreated from their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts since Trump’s election victory.
Meta joined the likes of Harley-Davidson, Walmart, Ford and McDonald’s in pivoting away from policies designed to make their workplaces more diverse, ditching its global DEI team just a few days after announcing it would no longer employ professional fact-checkers.
Zuckerberg then went on The Joe Rogan Experience – the No.1 podcast in America and No.2 podcast in Australia, according to Spotify – to explain these decisions.
During the almost three-hour conversation, Zuckerberg lamented what he characterised as the corporate world’s rejection of “masculine energy” as part of well-intentioned efforts to make workplaces more inclusive and welcoming to women. He said companies had mistakenly given the impression that masculinity was inherently toxic and “we have to get rid of it completely”.
Zuckerberg did not elaborate on what he meant by “masculine energy” – beyond saying that “having a culture that celebrates aggression a bit more has its own merits” – which meant commentators were left to read between the lines.
Still, while the Silicon Valley billionaire was clearly trying to curry favour with Trump, some of the same ingredients behind the change of attitude in the US are also present in Australia.
First, the leader of a major political party, in this case, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, has made it clear that he does not support big businesses weighing in on social issues. (Could a Dutton victory this year push Australian business leaders into a similar about-face to that seen in the US?)
Second, while no large corporates have publicly retreated from their diversity efforts in Australia, there are rumblings of discontent about the way some companies have sought to achieve certain targets. Meanwhile others argue DEI efforts are failing because we've lost sight of their core purpose – check out Encour MD Jessy Wu on this point here.
We explored what Mark Zuckerberg’s vibe shift could mean for corporate Australia in this piece.
The one thing that appeared to unite people on both sides of the debate?
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In the words of Chief Executive Women (CEW) president Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz : “It’s not good enough for gender equity advocates to simply dismiss genuinely held opposing views (which are these days often unspoken) as irrelevant or out of touch – for example, the view that gender targets lead to bias against men.”
“We need to seek to understand and be able to have those difficult conversations with honesty,” Lloyd-Hurwitz wrote last June.
“In the end, what we’re striving for is not one gender gaining at the expense of others. We’re striving for equal opportunities for all – men and women – so that no one is left behind.”
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