Target, Dick's Sporting Goods facing pushback from investors for 'going woke'

Major retailers Target and Dick's Sporting Goods will both face criticism over "woke" policies at their respective shareholder meetings on Wednesday, as activist investors ramp up pressure on companies amid raging culture wars in the U.S.

The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative think tank, plans to present proposals for a vote at each company, aimed at preventing the boards from making hyper-political decisions in the future, arguing that they have taken controversial positions at shareholders' expense.

At Target, the "anti-woke" investors are asking that the retailer provide a report on its partnerships and other support for "divisive social and political organizations and causes," after the company sparked backlash last year with its Pride Month displays.

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Target has had June Pride Month displays with rainbow and LGBTQ+ messaging for years, but the addition of products such as female-style swimsuits that can be used to "tuck" male genitalia outraged many consumers in the spring of 2023. The backlash was so severe that an insider told Fox News Digital at the time that some stores were told to relocate their Pride Month displays to avoid sparking a "Bud Light situation."

NCPPR specifically took aim at Target's partnering with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), and said the company "disastrously engaged in such activism when it aggressively touted radical gender theory in its stores."

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The activist investors said the backlash hurt Target's sales and damaged its stock price "significantly, which resulted in a $12 billion lawsuit against the company and caused Target to be rated ‘high risk’ on 1792 Exchange’s Corporate Bias Ratings."

Target's board issued a statement urging shareholders to vote against the proposal, saying they did not believe it was necessary.

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Separately, the NCPPR is asking Dick's Sporting Goods shareholders to consider a bylaw amendment waiving the business judgment rule, arguing the measure would bring greater board accountability for corporate acts taken to advance the political or ideological views of management.

The think tank wrote in its supporting statement that "Dick's has itself arguably been hurt financially in the past by prioritizing political views when Ed Stack, then chairman and chief executive, decided that Dick's should ‘take a stand’ on gun violence by foregoing the sale of assault-style weapons, and said 'I don't really care what the financial implication is.' Implementing this proposal would commit Dick's to focusing on shareholder value."

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The board of Dick's unanimously recommended a vote against the proposal, arguing it would likely violate Delaware law.

A report from The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday noted that "anti-woke" shareholder activism has been on the rise against corporate boards in recent years, but none of the proposals have passed.

FOX Business' Alexander Hall contributed to this report.