Four in 10 employees may quit if asked to wear pronoun badge
‘People want companies to recruit on merit... rather than social engineering to create “diverse teams”’
‘The public strongly believes that businesses should prioritise meritocracy and strong customer service’
FOUR in 10 people say they would be less likely to keep working for a company if they were asked to wear badges showing their pronouns, polling has found.
The finding comes in research backed by Kemi Badenoch on the “politicisation” of business, which shows that half of people think businesses have become too concerned with taking political positions on contested issues.
The Business and Trade Secretary said people wanted businesses to focus on serving customers, “not activism or political causes”. Policy Exchange, the think tank, commissioned Deltapoll to interview 1,993 adults in Great Britain earlier this month on their attitudes towards companies taking stances on political issues.
It found that 43 per cent of people stated they would be less likely to continue working for a company which asked them to wear pronoun badges, with only 7 per cent answering that they would be more likely to want to work for the company.
Three quarters (75 per cent) believe that companies should prioritise hiring on merit, regardless of race or gender, rather than hiring to create a diverse team. And 50 per cent of people agreed that businesses have become too concerned with taking political positions on contested issues, with only 14 per cent disagreeing.
When asked about businesses taking political stances on a range of issues – including Black Lives Matter, immigration, Palestine and transgender rights – in each case, about half of people said it would make no difference to whether they would buy their products.
In each case, a similar or larger number of people said they would be less likely to buy the products than said they would be more likely to buy.
Ms Badenoch, who also holds the position of Minister for Women and Equalities, said: “Policy Exchange’s findings confirm what I know to be true from talking to people who run businesses, work in them, and buy from them.
“The public want the focus of business to be on delivering great products and services, not activism or political causes – which repel as many people as they attract.
“Overwhelmingly, people want companies to recruit on merit, selecting the best person for the job without regard to race or gender, rather than social engineering to create ‘diverse teams’.”
Lara Brown, a senior research fellow on culture and identity at Policy Exchange, said: “Policy Exchange’s recent polling demonstrates that the public strongly believes that businesses should prioritise meritocracy and strong customer service over contested political stances.
“Customers do not believe that businesses need to demonstrate commitment to progressive principles and do not make spending decisions based on the political statements of retailers. Employees are also negatively affected by the politicisation of business, with many sceptical about workplace schemes tailored towards equality, diversity and inclusion.”