# SHEA BRADLEY-FARRELL: 'Go woke go broke' is not just a slogan—it's a fact

By Shea Bradley-Farrell · Published 2025-09-05 · Opinion › Culture · https://humanevents.com/opinion/shea-bradley-farrell-go-woke-go-broke-is-not-just-a-slogan-its-a-fact

> The great "anti-woke pushback" has gained momentum in the United States, thanks to commonsense Americans and fueled by the leadership and anti-woke agenda of the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump is aggressively cutting "woke" programs, funding, and hiring practices in the United States, including in corporate America, dealing a death blow to the creeping globalist agenda of Klaus [Schwab](https://humanevents.com/2025/04/22/breaking-wef-launches-probe-into-klaus-schwab-on-easter-sunday-day-before-he-steps-down-as-board-chair) and his World Economic Forum (WEF).

[Under a Trump executive order,](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-illegal-discrimination-and-restoring-merit-based-opportunity/) U.S. government agencies are identifying companies that violate federal discrimination laws, including those related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practices. DEI policies entail disparate treatment in the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment if based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics –[a violation of Title VII](https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-dei-related-discrimination-work) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In practice, the rigid orthodoxy of DEI stifles hiring and employee morale, undermines hard work and unity, and strangles freedom and innovation.

DEI policies are "exclusive," overlooking merit-based achievement by [requiring hiring quotas](https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1876375295218835908) of certain racial or other identity groups or giving preference to DEI-aligned suppliers. DEI policies divide employees into identity subgroups and place subgroup interests over the interests of the whole, such as elevating transgender bathroom choices over the privacy of other employees.

Feeling the pressure of Trump's anti-woke agenda, companies such as [Walmart,](https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/25/business/walmart-dei-rollback#:~:text=New%20York%20CNN%20%E2%80%94,transgender%20products%20marketed%20to%20children.) JPMorgan, Tractor Supply Co., Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Lowe's, Ford, and even [McDonald's](https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mcdonalds-latest-company-roll-back-woke-dei-policies-trend-continues-2025) are [walking back or eliminating](https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6361278619112) their previous DEI [and ESG policies](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/go-woke-go-broke-real-its-time-american-businesses-get-back-basics). ESG or Environmental, Social, and Governance, promotes radical environmental policy and is like DEI in that it includes discriminatory programs like critical race theory in human resource practices and hiring policies based on race, sex, or other identity groups. They are also burdensome and costly to implement.

In 2019, unbeknownst to most Americans, close to [200 CEOs from America's top companies](https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redefines-the-purpose-of-a-corporation-to-promote-an-economy-that-serves-all-americans) chose to adopt the "stakeholder capitalism" of Klaus Schwab's World Economic Forum. In [a single statement](https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/opportunity-commitment), the purpose of American corporations was redefined with a globalist economic model, and American businesses became subject to the WEF practice of rating corporations based on ESG "[performance"](https://www.weforum.org/publications/measuring-stakeholder-capitalism-towards-common-metrics-and-consistent-reporting-of-sustainable-value-creation/) metrics.

Stakeholder capitalism (in reality, having very little to do with capitalism) is a theory promoted by Schwab since the early 1970s. It asserts that the corporate purpose is not to maximize profits for shareholders, but to [maximize value for](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/klaus-schwab-on-what-is-stakeholder-capitalism-history-relevance/) [*all*](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/klaus-schwab-on-what-is-stakeholder-capitalism-history-relevance/) [stakeholders](https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/01/klaus-schwab-on-what-is-stakeholder-capitalism-history-relevance/) —including government agencies, community members, activist groups, non-profits, and companies.

This may sound like a lofty goal, but the practice of stakeholder capitalism is far from adequate, prosperous, or even fair. Asset management firms (like the infamous BlackRock) direct investment funds to companies with high ESG and DEI scores, ultimately using companies to shape society in the Leftist ideology of the elite echelon. Instead of acting in the interest of investors, employees, consumers, or shareholders, businesses [are at the mercy](https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2025/08/25/dei_undermines_merit_sows_division_weakens_companies_1130512.html) of "stakeholder activism" to promote woke programming, products, and advertising.

This was a shockingly bad decision by Corporate America, considering that for generations American capitalism had "produced superior stock market returns and broad-based societal gains," raising living standards for generations of Americans. Europe's economies, primarily based on stakeholder capitalism for decades, and buried under bureaucracy, burdensome taxes, and extreme woke regulation, have been ["largely stagnant"](https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/europe-is-losing-fe179376?st=F4KBfJ&reflink=article_email_share) for about the last 15 years. Interestingly, Germany's economy, which is firmly oriented on stakeholder governance, has only grown by 1% over the past 8 years, while the U.S. economy has grown by 19%.

Millions of Americans, too, are fed up with paying for the so-called "progressive" causes of powerful, out-of-touch corporate elites. Outraged consumers boycott and publicly lash out against companies that go off the woke deep-end, causing many to backtrack their woke ways.

Social media responses against Jaguar, which recently unveiled a bizarre rebranding that included "gender-fluid" models and a shift to all-electric vehicles (and a [97.5% collapse in European sales](https://nypost.com/2025/07/01/business/jaguar-sales-plummet-after-botched-rebrand-ev-pivot/)), were scathing and abundant. Not long before, Jaguar's [brand strategist had proudly announced](https://nypost.com/2024/11/20/tech/woke-outdated-jaguar-ad-brutally-roasted/) the establishment of "more than 15 DEI groups" and a "transitioning at work" policy. President Trump called Jaguar's public embarrassment ["a total disaster;"](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l61d5g9ggo) others labelled it "Bud Light 2.0."

Who could forget the disastrous [fall of Bud Light](https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/bud-light-hasnt-recovered-from-mulvaney-controversy-ex-anheuser-busch-exec-says), a company formerly catering to red-blooded Americans that actually believed a guy in a dress, makeup, and pearls could attract beer-drinking customers? Unsurprisingly, Bud Light's transgender ad led to a boycott of America's best-selling beer, resulting in a loss of billions of dollars in shareholder value and a 30% drop in sales and customers.

Recently, Target's CEO stepped down, amid plummeting sales and years of ideological instability. Remember Target's Pride Month 2023 display, with infant [LGBTQ onesies and genitalia-tucking](https://nypost.com/2023/05/19/targets-tuck-friendly-swimwear-for-kids-sparks-controversy/) bikini bottoms for boys? Target's [CFO admitted](https://nypost.com/2023/08/16/target-suffers-sales-drop-after-pride-month-backlash/) that its "Pride assortment" impacted their bottom line, resulting in a [$14 billion](https://nypost.com/2023/05/31/targets-stock-loses-12-7-billion-hits-lowest-level-since-2020/) loss in Target stock at the time. Sales continue [to be flat or falling](https://www.wsj.com/business/retail/target-corporate-employees-ceo-search-bcfeb735).

Woke is under attack, and especially where it hurts most –right in the pocketbook. Yet, some companies refuse to learn.

This year, Disney [laid off hundreds](https://www.newsweek.com/disney-layoffs-celebrated-go-woke-go-broke-2080183) of employees after the release of its [woke version](https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mirror-mirror-wall-woke-snow-white-cause-disneys-fall) of the movie *Snow White,* and an "underwhelming box office performance." In 2023, [Disney](https://humanevents.com/2025/05/09/disney-to-open-new-theme-park-in-abu-dhabi-where-homosexuality-is-illegal) already laid off 7,000 employees after establishing an "[openly gay agenda](https://www.foxnews.com/media/snow-white-struggles-here-five-more-disney-controversies-rocked-company)" in movies and theme parks, including a lesbian kissing scene in the supposedly family-friendly movie *Lightyear.* This year, [Disney is also retreating](https://nypost.com/2025/02/10/media/disney-dumps-two-dei-programs-as-investors-pressure-company/) from its extensive DEI agenda.

For millions of Americans, Cracker Barrel symbolizes Americana, family, goodness, and the essence of comfort food – one of the last remaining reflections of a purer time. But Cracker Barrel's recent [rebranding](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/21/food/cracker-barrel-new-logo?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc&recs_exp=up-next-article-end&tenant_id=related.en) seemed to reject American cultural heritage, making customers angry. And Cracker Barrel, too, had [jumped on the DEI bandwagon](https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/business/cracker-barrel-removed-dei-and-pride-website) with [LGBTQ Policies](https://x.com/alexbruesewitz/status/1958246738957144137?s=43&t=-KuVhdhJyqL-GXDu7Fl9og) and a dedicated "Pride" website page (now deleted).

Oh, [Cracker Barrel](https://humanevents.com/2025/08/29/travis-vernier-cracker-barrel-controversy-sends-needed-message-to-wokesters-inside-classic-corporations), why did you do it?

Corporate executives and leftist media are quick to assure the public that failures of woke companies are due to market shifts or "rapid" transformation of industry –but the timing and public outrage are hard to ignore. American consumers are angry about being told what to believe and how to think, especially when all they want [(Starbucks)](https://about.starbucks.com/stories/2023/starbucks-partners-celebrate-pride-at-events-across-u-s/) is just a freakin' cup of coffee, not a sermon about a self-serving political agenda.

Woke corporatism can be a money-making racket for non-profits and activists. Big money is allocated to "evaluate" the ["woke" levels of corporations](https://apnews.com/article/human-rights-campaign-corporate-equality-index-lgbtq-workplace-a6b64d21287ed6de98d7dd3bc03f2872) using metrics based on DEI and ESG performance measurements. Corporations [that choose not to comply receive](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/02/business/exxon-lumbers-along-to-catch-up-with-gay-rights.html) a [poor score and public embarrassment.](https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/hrc-foundation-announces-record-participation-in-upcoming-2025-corporate-equality-index-docks-scores-of-seven-companies-in-current-ranking-following-their-pullback-from-workplace-inclusion#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%2D%20Today%2C%20the%20Human%20Rights,fall%20to%2020%20from%2045) Those that do comply are publicly praised and obtain a perfect "woke" score.

For example, each year at the World Economic Forum, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reveals its [Corporate Equality Index](https://reports.hrc.org/corporate-equality-index-2025#2025-equality-100-recipients) (CEI), a made-up, needless measurement of "corporate America's roadmap for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion." Based on an annual survey, the report gauges "policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) employees." HRC is [funded by organizations](http://www.hrc.org/press-releases/the-human-rights-campaign-honors-human-rights-day-with-grants-to-global-lgbtq-advocates) such as George Soros' Open Society Foundations and by businesses including [Amazon, American Airlines,](https://www.hrc.org/about/corporate-partners) The Walt Disney Company, Apple, and many others.

HRC compels and pressures corporations into compliance to achieve a "perfect" index score. An impressive [1500 companies participated](https://www.hrc.org/resources/corporate-equality-index#:~:text=Human%20Rights%20Campaign%20Foundation's%20Corporate,of%20employers'%20commitment%20to%20equality.) in this year's CEI 2025. Major [companies that earned a 100% score](https://reports.hrc.org/corporate-equality-index-2025#2025-equality-100-recipients) include Amtrak, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Food Lion, PetSmart, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Starbucks, McDonald's, Visa, CareFirst Inc., and many others.

Fortunately, the great "anti-woke pushback" has gained momentum in the United States, thanks to commonsense Americans and fueled by the leadership and anti-woke agenda of the Trump administration. This year, a "lengthy list" of companies, including the global fast-food giant McDonald's, pledged to withdraw from the HRC's Corporate Equality Index. Major companies are rolling back DEI, and investment in [ESG is on a steep decline](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/a624a69d161ffaef) in the U.S. and in Europe.

Finally, after years of ideological posturing and consumer blackmail, corporate elites are finding that "Go Woke, Go Broke" is not just a slogan.

*Shea Bradley-Farrell, Ph.D. is a strategist in national security and foreign policy in Washington, D.C. and president of* [*Counterpoint Institute*](https://www.counterpointinstitute.org/copy-of-our-mission) *for Policy, Research and Education. Her latest book is* [*Last Warning to the West*](https://counterpointinstitute.org/so/caPS81EGm?languageTag=en)*. Follow her at* [*counterpointinstititute.org*](https://www.counterpointinstitute.org/) *or "X"* [*@DrShea\_DC*](https://x.com/DrShea_DC) *and* [*@CounterpointDC*](https://x.com/CounterpointDC)*.*