Africa’s prospects in Trump’s new era (3)

Trump’s MAGA effect is going “glocal.” If there is anything called body language, it is what Trump’s second coming has been signalling since the months leading up to the November 5 election. Even before that election that gave Donald J. Trump the mandate to return him to the White House, his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement had started upsetting the tables within and outside the United States, prompting governments, international organisations and corporate entities to consider how to tow his line when he resumes office. Within, this conservative group has been loud in its campaign against the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) advocates. Beginning with the presidential campaigns, the Trump’s camp did not spare his rival candidate Kamala Harris, who was repeatedly branded as a DEI hire. And nothing could be a starker and more confirmatory description of this than when Harris told two young men in a pro-abortion rally that they “were probably in a wrong rally.”

Succumbing to pressure from the conservative activists, many corporate organisations in the US that have hitherto accepted, were implementing and had incorporated DEI agenda into their priorities, have started to walk away, ditching the DEI policies. In a report this week, “Advocate,” an online advocacy group, profiled nine companies in the US that are abandoning DEI in its wider ramifications. Although the decision did not go down well in the camp of the DEI campaigners, it was welcomed by Robby Starbuck, conservative activist, who – in a direct response to the development – tweeted that “sanity is coming for corporate America.” Unlike traditional criteria that prioritised merit as a foremost consideration for hiring and promoting staff in the workplace, the DEI criteria seek to promote what it describes as human rights, equity, quota, inclusiveness and diversity, which emphasise gender affirmation and sexual orientation in what is now seen as “woke” culture, promoted by the progressive ideologues.

Opposition to the continued and growing influence of the DEI promoters on corporate organisations got to a crescendo around mid-year when some corporate organisations and multinationals that hitherto subscribed to or supported DEI projects began to scale back or even back out, preferring to operate without mixing socially motivated issues with their core corporate operations. Conflating and subtly subsuming unrelated social issues as ultra-liberal ideologies are thus receiving serious backlash as companies are backtracking in their support for such ideologies which have proved to have political undertones. For instance, the same set of people forcing the hands of corporate organisations to comply with gay, lesbian and transgender issues are also involved in action against climate change, using the same auditing platform to ensure corporate compliance. For corporate organisations, their compliance was regarded as corporate best practice. Compliant organisations therefore tended to consider such compliance as additional corporate credentials. As many organisations attempt to be in the good books of corporate auditors, it is a matter of time that an increasingly popular Sustainability Report might soon entail the inclusion of DEI parameters.

From the first half of 2024, a wind of change had started to blow all across America. The following are the major companies that have been identified by Advocate either as turning away from DEI or have altogether dropped DEI programmes. Walmart is a supply chain and retail outlet in the US. In rolling back its DEI and reviewing Pride funding, it has announced it will no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index. It has also promised to make changes to its DEI policies and monitor its marketplace to ensure “inappropriate sexual and/or transgender products” are not marketed to children, as reported in USA Today. Beer maker Molson Coors has also abandoned its DEI policies in early September, revealing that it will no longer have specific “representation goals” for its employees and suppliers, nor will it be participating in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, in which it previously had a perfect rating. It will also no longer be sponsoring events such as Pride celebrations.

Automobile manufacturer Ford, in an internal memo in August, has disclosed that it was backing away from commenting publicly “on the many polarizing issues of the day.” The memo reportedly said that the executives had already decided not to participate in external surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index but the company remains committed to “fostering a safe and inclusive workplace.” It, however, acknowledged that “our employees and customers hold a wide range of beliefs, and the external and legal environment related to political and social issues continues to evolve.” The HRC, which “evaluates every Fortune 500 company on issues of equality, whether or not that company submits additional information to HRC about its priorities and progress,” has invested a lot in the DEI project. The latest twists in corporate reactions are indeed unsettling to the HRC. Its president, Kelley Robinson, went after Ford in a harsh reaction, condemning the decision. “Today, Ford Motor Company abandoned its commitment to hundreds of thousands of employees by cowering to internet troll Robby Starbuck, and signalling that inclusion and other core values are no longer a priority in the workplace.”

In her statement, Robinson added that: “After decades of commitment to inclusion and top ratings on the HRC Foundation Corporate Equality Index, the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Disability:IN’s Disability Equality Index as well as their longstanding philanthropic record funding scholarships for Hispanic students, the Human Rights Campaign could not be more disappointed to see Ford Motor Company shirking its responsibility to its employees, consumers, and shareholders. By failing to support women leaders, employees of colour, and LGBTQ+ employees, Ford Motor Company is abandoning its financial duty to recruit and keep top talent from across the full talent pool. In making their purchasing decisions, consumers should take note that Ford Motor Company has abandoned its commitment to our communities.”

John Deere, one of the US leading farm equipment manufacturers, made its own rather brutal announcement in July. “We will no longer participate in or support external social or cultural awareness parades, festivals, or events. Business Resource Groups will exclusively be focused on professional development, networking, mentoring, and supporting talent recruitment efforts. It disclosed that it will be “auditing all company-mandated training materials and policies to ensure the absence of socially motivated messages, while being in compliance with federal, state, and local laws.” It will also be “reaffirming within the business that the existence of diversity quotas and pronoun identification have never been and are not company policy.” Lowe’s, a US retail company specialising in home improvement products, revealed its own new stance in August. In an internal memo obtained by multiple news outlets, it informed employees that the company will no longer participate in the HRC’s Corporate Equality index and that its internal employee support resources for those belonging to minority groups will all be combined into one umbrella programme. The memo also revealed that the company would end its sponsorship of and participation in community events such as parades, festivals, or fairs — referring to LGBTQ+ Pride parades.

In August, Harley-Davidson, the iconic motorcycle company, said it was pulling out of the HRC index and that it would ensure that employee training will remain “absent of socially motivated content.” Eric Bloem, HRC vice president of programmes and corporate advocacy, described such a decision as “putting politics ahead of workers and consumers,” saying  “Harley-Davidson’s choice to back away from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fuelled by fringe right-wing actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can bully their way into dismantling initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace.” But the HRC statement masked its subtlety, in which case what is presently an advocacy, involving voluntary compliance, could someday transform into law that could make compliance statutory.  Also, in an email message from executive leadership in August, Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey and other beverages, told its employees that it would no longer participate in initiatives like the HRC index and that it would end “quantitative workforce and supplier diversity ambitions,” but “will continue to foster an inclusive work environment where everyone is welcomed, respected, and able to bring their best self to work.”

The Tennessee-based animal feed and farm retailer, Tractor Supply Co., had announced in June — LGBTQ+ Pride Month — that it was abandoning all diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, in an apparent response to pressure from MAGA activists. The changes include halting data submissions to the Human Rights Campaign, refocusing Team Member Engagement Groups on mentoring and networking, eliminating DEI roles, retiring current DEI goals, and shifting environmental focus from carbon emissions to land and water conservation. The company will therefore cease sponsoring non-business activities like Pride festivals and voting campaigns. The company was accused of LGBTQIA+ training for employees, funding pride/drag events, a DEI Council, funding sex changes, climate change activism, Pride month decorations in the office, DEI hiring practices, and LGBTQIA+ events at work.” Particularly accused of promoting “woke priorities” was Hal Lawton, the company’s CEO, on supporting things that do not align with Tractor Supply’s customer base.

More recently, Toyota Motor Corp. made a u-turn from the DEI path. Early in October, it announced that it was refocusing its DEI programmes and ceasing sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events. It addressed its 50,000 U.S. employees and 1,500 dealers in a letter, indicating that the company leaders cited a “highly politicised discussion” about DEI and that the automaker would “narrow our community activities to align with STEM education and workforce readiness.” It was made clear that Toyota would no longer participate in the HRC Corporate Equality Index. This came after Toyota was criticised in a social media campaign for alleged sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events. “Workers need to know that no matter who is in the State House or in the White House, they can trust that their employer won’t discriminate against them in their health insurance benefits or employee handbook. They need to know that they can be protected against harassment whether they’re on the factory floor or at HQ. With more polarisation than ever, it’s critical for LGBTQ+ employees, customers and our allies to know that a company has inclusive policies and practices. And the CEI delivers that clarity – with 93% of LGBTQ+ Americans looking to the CEI as a measure of support for the community.”

Promoters of DEI try to prove some points. “The facts are clear. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are not just moral imperatives; they are essential for business success in the 21st century. The LGBTQ+ community represents $1.4 trillion in buying power. Thirty percent of Gen Z – the future workforce – identifies as LGBTQ+. Eighty percent of LGBTQ+ consumers would boycott companies that roll back inclusion initiatives,” according to Advocate. Backlash against DEI at the global level was swift and unrelenting following the show of drag queen at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the withdrawal of a biological female Italian Angela Carini from the boxing match against Algeria female opponent in that tournament. President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly vowed to implement broad restrictions, reinstate and expand ban on transgender military service and – with an executive order – to medically discharge an estimated 15,000 transgender troops within days of inauguration.

African leaders that – with carrot and stick tactics – were being bullied, coerced or cajoled into adopting LGBTQ+ as state policies by Barack Obama and Kamala Harris, can now breathe free as the new president-in-waiting is proving unlikely to put his knee on their necks for cultural and ideological differences. This alone should cause African leaders who were uncomfortable with – or not positively disposed to – Donald Trump to start reconsidering their diplomatic dispositions toward him and his government in their bilateral engagements when he is fully back in office.