Ex-Levi’s executive say ‘woke capitalism’ is taking over corporate boardrooms. What is it

Latest to join the anti-woke bandwagon is former Levi’s executive and brand president Jennifer Sey, who has called out the movement in her new memoir, “Levi’s Unbuttoned:The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice'” In which she has alleged that she was thrown out of her company for speaking up against the popular argument. It was her statements against school closures post COVID-19 and support for Donald Trump that drew a lot of flack and she was asked to either ‘Shut up or Leave’.

By claiming, ‘The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice’, in an excerpt published by The New York Post she explains “how many of today’s CEOs — lacking any backbone, yet desperate to be seen as “good” — cave to performative woke mobs.

“Woke capitalism” is corporate America’s attempt to profit off Millennial and Gen Z activism, often passive keyboard activism, she states and is spreading in corporate boardrooms from academia

Former top corporate has said that how corporate America is trying to profit off Millennial and Gen Z activism and is more of “woke capitalism”.

As published in an excerpt in the New York Post Jennifer Sey accuses that many business leaders want to distance themselves from the greedy image by taking up causes that will help the planet or society at large.

The top former Levi’s executive said,” “Bill Gates is eliminating malaria and saving the children in Africa,” Sey wrote. “Howard Schultz is running for president to save our democracy. Elon Musk is not only saving the planet with electric vehicles, but he is also exploring new frontiers in space and defending free speech for the masses,” as reported by Fox news.

Jennifer Sey also said that the new generation of workers are “ideological terrorists” and that the company leaders are unwilling to stand upto them.

“Most CEOs lack the moral courage to hold their ground,” Sey wrote . “Because they know, deep down, that they aren’t do-gooders, and they don’t want that curtain lifted.” She was quoted saying.

She alleges, ‘Despite all the evidence of greed and corruption, business leaders have managed to re-brand themselves as altruists. Never mind that in 2020, CEOs made 351 times more than the average worker at their company — up from 21 times more in 1965. Indeed, in the last 30 years, their average compensation has grown over 1,000%, even as they have burnished an image as humanitarians.’

What is Woke Capitalism

The word Woke is a slang, which didn’t start out as one. It took birth in a dialect called African American Vernacular English, meaning awake. Over the years the term became a watchword in parts of the black community for those who were self-aware. It was popularized as a call to action that went hand in hand with the black lives matter movement. However, the idea of getting (and staying) “woke” has taken on a different, more complex meaning since it first began to spread across social media.

Since companies operate in society, every few years, newer ideas of the wider purpose of companies, their roles and responsibilities, beyond delivering profits to shareholders, emerge. Some ideas stick, changing corporate culture. Some end up being passing fads. Some turn out to be good for the larger good, and therefore, for companies and their shareholders ultimately. (One example is striving for sustainability or a gender-diverse workforce, wrote Puja Mehra in Mint.