Former Levi's exec says 'woke capitalism' has taken over corporate boardrooms
Former Levi's brand president says most CEOs are 'frauds' who lack 'moral courage'
A former Levi's brand president who says the company pushed her out over her outspokenness against COVID-19 school closures has written a book condemning wokeness and says the movement has spread from academia into corporate boardrooms because most CEOs do not have the guts to stand up against it.
Jennifer Sey, a longtime Levi's executive and lifelong Democrat, argues in her new memoir, "Levi's Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice," that "woke capitalism" is simply "corporate America's attempt to profit off Millennial and Gen Z activism," and she spells out why.
Jennifer Sey, a former Levi's brand president, attends the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 21, 2018, in Cannes, France. (Christian Alminana/Getty Images for Cannes Lions / Getty Images)
In an excerpt published in the New York Post, Sey says many executives "want to distance themselves from the greedy image of past business leaders" by taking on causes to help society or the planet.
"Corporate leaders want us to believe they are do-gooders, not money-grubbers," she writes. "They'll get rich, too, but they don't want you to think that is their mission."
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Instead, she says, "business executives would have us believe that they are our saviors," pointing to the efforts of high-profile billionaires.
"Bill Gates is eliminating malaria and saving the children in Africa," Sey wrote. "Howard Schultz is running for president to save our democracy. Elon Musk is not only saving the planet with electric vehicles, he is exploring new frontiers in space and defending free speech for the masses."
Jennifer Sey, former Levi's chief marketing officer (Jennifer Sey)
Sey says one primary reason why wokeness is prevalent in so many major companies is that the leaders are often influenced by their Gen Z kids and bend to their children's entitled demands.
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"Today’s executives reared these kids with an ‘I’m not your Dad, I’m your friend’ parenting philosophy, and they chase their children’s approval," she writes. "They want to impress their woke kids with their own progressive bona fides."
The ex-Levi's executive called the younger generations of workers "ideological terrorists" who are "policing their peers and elders relentlessly," and she said that company leaders are unwilling to stand up to them.
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"Most CEOs lack the moral courage to hold their ground," Sey wrote. "Because they know, deep down, that they aren’t do-gooders, and they don’t want that curtain lifted."
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She continued, "So they kowtow to the very vocal minority — the scant few employees marching outside of headquarters or emailing the head of Human Resources. These CEOs are frauds and have no actual courage."