‘Anti-Woke’ Shareholders Are Going After Corporate Boards
A new kind of shareholder activism is rattling companies: “anti-woke” agitators. Shareholders at dozens of big companies, from GE Aerospace GE -1.52%decrease; red down pointing triangle to UPS, are voting on proposals opposing environmental and social initiatives this year. Investors backed by conservative groups are suing Target TGT -1.57%decrease; red down pointing triangle and other companies for their progressive stances. And companies are muting their focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as DEI programs come under legal and political threat. The activists frame the push as getting politics out of business—and suggest getting used to it. “We who would prefer corporate behavior without partisan influence have really started to get into the game after years of quiescence,” said Scott Shepard, general counsel at the National Center for Public Policy Research, or NCPPR, a conservative think tank that has proposed dozens of shareholder measures questioning corporate initiatives on climate, diversity and other subjects.
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