Kellogg Shareholders Will Vote On Auditing Company’s Diversity Initiatives And Returning ‘To Merits’

Shareholders for the Kellogg Company are scheduled to vote Friday on a proposal to audit the multinational food conglomerate’s adherence to the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement, also known as DEI, and return the company to hiring and promotion decisions based on merit.

The proposal, which the board of directors recommended that shareholders oppose, would launch an examination of the company’s DEI initiatives with an ideologically diverse and independent group of employees, shareholders, and third-party entities. The text of the proposal noted that the Kellogg Company has “allocated significant resources and attention towards implementing social justice into workplace practices” through commitments to the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG.

“Across the political spectrum, all agree that employee success should be fostered and that no employees should face discrimination, but there is much disagreement about what nondiscrimination means,” the proposal said. “In practice, what ‘equity’ really means is the distribution of pay and authority on the basis of race, sex, orientation and ethnic categories rather than by merit.”

Increasing the percentage of females or racial minorities in corporate workforces are indeed objectives often pursued by firms with DEI initiatives or dedication to the ESG movement. Both philosophies have rapidly grown in prominence among leading companies in recent years, even as skeptics contend that they mingle political and social causes with core business objectives in a manner that compromises or distracts from profitability.

The shareholder proposal, which called for a “return to merits,” noted that firms across a number of industries, from Verizon and Pfizer to American Express and CVS, have implemented similar policies despite the likelihood of overt discrimination against qualified staff members.

Executives at the Kellogg Company have vowed to achieve a global management team equally composed of men and women by the end of 2025 and ensure that one-quarter of American managers come from underrepresented racial groups over the same time horizon. Kellogg Company Chief Diversity Officer Samantha Thomas-Berry recently lauded the firm’s progress toward the goals and asserted that executives will successfully impose “more balanced representation in our leadership.”

“Such programs have raised significant objections, including the concern that the programs and practices themselves are deeply racist, sexist, otherwise discriminatory, and potentially in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the proposal continued. “By devaluing merit, corporations have sacrificed employee competence and morale, and therefore productivity, to the altar of ‘diversity.’ These practices create massive reputational, legal and financial risk.”

Increased tumult in the economy has increased skepticism toward the ESG movement among some managers and investors. ESG funds suffered amid last year’s underperformance among technology firms, which ESG investors tend to favor because of their emphasis on corporate social responsibility, and overperformance among energy companies, which ESG managers tend to shirk because of their dislike for industries with heavy carbon emissions.

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Americans are broadly skeptical of the ESG movement’s core assumptions and desire that the companies in which they invest abstain from forwarding ideological objectives favored by executives. An exclusive poll conducted by The Daily Wire last year showed that 58% of respondents opposed companies leveraging their financial power for political or social means, an approach to company operations which 29% of respondents supported.

Report: Biden Is Only Functional Six Hours A Day, Five Days A Week

According to his aides, President Joe Biden is a spry 80-year-old — at least between the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Outside of that time frame, he’s back to being Sleepy Joe, according to a new report.

On Friday, Axios reported that the Biden White House has a hard time planning any public and private events before midmorning and in the evening for the 46th president given his age and lack of energy. This, of course, comes as no surprise to most Americans who witness his diminished stamina and mental acuity on a near-daily basis.

“Biden’s close advisers say he’s mentally sharp,” Axios reported. “But even some of them concede his age has diminished his energy, significantly limiting his schedule.”

It sounds like a joke, but Axios even reported that “Many White House officials say they’re amazed at Biden’s stamina — often adding the caveat: ‘for his age.'”

According to Axios, Biden’s 2023 schedule has just four public events before 10:00 a.m., 12 public events after 6:00 p.m., and 12 weekends out of the public spotlight.

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Even when Biden is in public during his purportedly preferred hours, he’s not exactly functional. For example, on Thursday, Biden failed to remember the last country he visited when asked by a child.

“I’ve met with 89 heads of state so far,” Biden said, “So, uh, I’m trying to think what’s the last place I was. … It’s hard to keep track … uh.”

“Ireland!” a kid in the crowd yelled.

“Yeah, you’re right, Ireland,” he replied. “That’s what it was. How did you know that?”

Joe Biden couldn't remember the last country he visited.

A literal child had to remind him. pic.twitter.com/rHToAMSYgy

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 27, 2023

The president was in Ireland just two weeks ago. As Biden runs for reelection, it appears likely that his campaign will try his 2020 strategy all over again: Hide him in a basement and limit rallies.

It’s a bold move, but when you can only operate at peak capacity 30 hours a week as president of the United States, what else can you do?

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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