Good news: Americans want businesses to make products and services and make money. They don’t want them intervening in ESG and other political issues.
A new Gallup Poll finds just 38% of voters think businesses should engage in politics.
That’s a decline of 10 percentage points from just 2022 and may help explain why firms such as John Deere and Home Depot are no longer emphasizing top-down DEI programs.
But the big news is that the biggest decline in support for political involvement comes in groups that normally want business to be more vocal. That includes Democrats, Americans under the age of 45, Black Americans, and Asian Americans.
Only 53 percent of Democrats now want businesses more involved in current issues. Republicans, some of whom may be tired of seeing firms they patronize decline to confront “woke” causes, saw a slight uptick from 18 percent to 22 percent in wanting businesses to speak up.