NewsRescue
Nike, Anheuser-Busch, and Kate Spade executives, whose brand endorsements have transformed controversial trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney into today’s woke “It girl,” aren’t just virtue signalling.
They’re giving hefty deals to people who were formerly considered fringe superstars because they have to — or risk failing an all-important social credit score that may make or break their enterprises.
The Human Rights Campaign, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ political lobbying organisation, is in charge of their Corporate Equality Index — or CEI — score.
HRC, which has received millions from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and others, publishes report cards for America’s largest corporations through the CEI, assigning or deducting points based on how well companies adhere to what HRC refers to as its “rating criteria.”
Businesses who receive a total of 100 points obtain the coveted title of “Best Place To Work For LGBTQ Equality.” According to HRC data, fifteen of the top twenty Fortune-ranked corporations received 100% scores last year.
Kelley Robinson, who was chosen president in 2022 and worked as a political organiser for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, leads the HRC, which was founded in 1980 and founded the CEI in 2002.
For organisations to obtain — or lose — CEI points, the HRC outlines five major grading categories, each with its own extensive subgroup.
A company might lose CEI points if it fails to meet the HRC’s requirement for “integration of intersectionality in professional development, skills-based or other training” or if it does not implement a “supplier diversity programme with demonstrated effort to include certified LGBTQ+ suppliers.”
According to James Lindsay, a political podcaster who operates the site New Discourses, the Human Rights Campaign administers the CEI ranking “like an extortion racket, like the Mafia.”
It also does not sit back passively. Every year, HRC sends representatives to firms to inform them of the types of things they must make visible at their workplace. They give them a list of requests, and if they don’t follow through, you risk losing your CEI score.”
The CEI is a lesser-known component of the country’s top three investment firms’ growing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance) “ethical investing” movement. ESG funds invest in companies that advocate for unionisation and prioritise racial and gender justice over merit in hiring and board selection.
As a result, according to multiple sources, some American CEOs are more concerned with pleasing BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Bank, which are among the top shareholders of most American publicly traded corporations (including Nike, Anheuser-Busch, and Kate Spade), than they are with irritating conservatives.
Mulvaney’s new ad campaigns with Bud Light and Nike this week ruffled the feathers of critics ranging from country star Travis Tritt and Kid Rock — who tweeted a video of himself shooting cases of Bud Light — to female Olympians and even Caitlyn Jenner, who said of Nike: “It is a shame to see such an iconic American company go so woke!… This is a heinous crime.”