Anyone Else Work For a Woke Company?

[Carborendum]

The Ranting Shall Commence!

I just began with a client.  During their 5-hr orientation, they spent two hours talking about their DEI program.  Everyone was given a rainbow lanyard for their id card.  I ditched it.

They gave us vouchers for the company store.  All the "good" stuff was all rainbow everything.  The non-rainbow stuff wasn't worth buying.  Subliminal message?

One of the training courses had a scenario to consider where the narrator kept using "they" in all the pronouns (in this case it referred to two different parties a "she" and a "they."  I couldn't even understand who "they" was referring to without re-watching it three times.  Insane.

If they seriously want to pay me to sit through all this, I guess I'll do it.  But what a waste of time.

They somehow placed a Chinese National as a project manager on one project that knew nothing about my job and what I needed to do.  His English was insufficient to understand what my concerns were for the project.  He simply didn't get what we needed to communicate to the client for me to do my job.  So, he kept saying,"try to figure that out."  I already had.  He didn't realize it.

/Rant off.

[LDSGator]

While it’s not the same thing, many years ago I worked for a company that wanted to “do more for the poor” and had a guy from a local charity come in and arrogantly lecture us about making donations directly out of our paychecks to the charity. The company, and this guy, were too stupid to see that 99% of us were college kids and single moms working paycheck to paycheck. I was furious with how blind everyone involved was. Like being “woke” in 2023 their good intentions did nothing. 
 

So you aren’t alone. 

[NeuroTypical]

I work for a high-tech fortune 500 company.  Large-company Corporate America has always known that to survive, it needs to replace it's numbers, and high-tech has always had an emphasis on intern programs and freshly-degreed college hires.   In the last ~4 years, it's become utterly apparent that those college hires and interns, more often than not it seems, value the woke stuff.  There are studies and surveys, talking about how many potential employees look closely at a company's woke stuff (statements on social issues, diversity/inclusion policies, alphabet-friendly policies, etc.).  And how they won't take a job with a company that isn't woke enough.

So, with their future at stake, corporate America retools itself to be attractive to the kiddos and their ever-shifting winds of cultural passion.

 

To answer your question, yeah, my company tries hard to balance being woke, with not forcing anyone to participate in the woke if they don't want to.  There are many frustrated folks like you.  

[Ironhold]

1 hour ago, NeuroTypical said:

I work for a high-tech fortune 500 company.  Large-company Corporate America has always known that to survive, it needs to replace it's numbers, and high-tech has always had an emphasis on intern programs and freshly-degreed college hires.   In the last ~4 years, it's become utterly apparent that those college hires and interns, more often than not it seems, value the woke stuff.  There are studies and surveys, talking about how many potential employees look closely at a company's woke stuff (statements on social issues, diversity/inclusion policies, alphabet-friendly policies, etc.).  And how they won't take a job with a company that isn't woke enough.

So, with their future at stake, corporate America retools itself to be attractive to the kiddos and their ever-shifting winds of cultural passion.

 

To answer your question, yeah, my company tries hard to balance being woke, with not forcing anyone to participate in the woke if they don't want to.  There are many frustrated folks like you.  

It's more than that.

Many companies are set up so that they receive short- and intermediate-term "bridge" financing from different companies to fund various projects, with the expectation that the profit they'll make from the project will earn a minimum profit above and beyond the cost of the financing. 

A number of the companies that routinely deal in providing this "bridge" financing are, themselves, infested with woke all the way to the very top. They know the power they have over other companies, and so are using this power to coerce companies into adopting various DEI-friendly policies... never mind the fact that companies tend to DIE once they do so. 

Word is that with the Budweiser disaster, some of these companies are having to pull back on the coercion and are even using new euphemistic names to hide their DEI requirements. If true, this indicates that even the hardcore true believers are starting to catch on to the fact that the general public is now pushing back.

[Backroads]

I'm pretty sure my company (the parent company, at least) is pretty woke. And yet... charter schools tend to be more beloved of the conservative crowd, and the parent company doesn't have schools in all states yet due to powerful teacher's unions and my AP is quite liberal so...

I don't know? 

[zil2]

Well, I work for myself, and I am awake, so...  Oh, but I'm not a company, so, um, I guess not.

[mordorbund]

4 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I just began with a client.  During their 5-hr orientation, they spent two hours talking about their DEI program

 

[JohnsonJones]

What does one mean when they say Woke?

Looking it up on Wikipedia (yes, perhaps not the best site for some, but it generally has a good summation of things) says

Quote

Woke is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) meaning "alert to racial prejudice and discrimination".^[1][2] Beginning in the 2010s, it came to encompass a broader awareness of social inequalities such as sexism and LGBT rights. Woke has also been used as shorthand for some ideas of the American Left involving identity politics and social justice, such as white privilege and slavery reparations for African Americans.^[3][4][5]

The phrase stay woke has been present in AAVE since the 1930s. In some contexts, it referred to an awareness of social and political issues affecting African Americans. The phrase was uttered in recordings from the mid-20th century by Lead Belly and, post-millennium, by Erykah Badu.

Is this a bad thing to be aware of racial prejudice and discrimination, or aware of things such as identity politics, social justice, white privilege and slavery reparations?

It is a great irony that it seems that the term, woke, which comes from awoken and thus from awaken seems to have it's first appearance among Republicans and their political points over 150 years ago

Quote

While it is not known when being awake was first used as a metaphor for political engagement and activism, one early example in the United States was the paramilitary youth organization the Wide Awakes, which formed in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1860 to support the Republican candidate in the 1860 presidential election, Abraham Lincoln. Local chapters of the group spread rapidly across northern cities in the ensuing months and "triggered massive popular enthusiasm" around the election. The political militancy of the group also alarmed many southerners, who saw in the Wide Awakes confirmation of their fears of northern, Republican political aggression. The support among the Wide Awakes for abolition, as well as the participation of a number of Black men in a Wide Awakes parade in Massachusetts, likely contributed to such anxiety.^[10][11]

In that light...are we awake?  Do you Awake and Arise?

So, with that in mind, is my employer...Woke?  I suppose you could say it is woke, when you have these ideas in mind.  It has a department devoted to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. 

Are we opposed to Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion?

I thought the Church taught that the atonement was for everyone, that the gospel was for everyone?

-----------------------------------------------------------

In the mid 20th century the term woke took on a more specific meaning among African-American Communities where it was more about being aware AND informed about issues pertaining to the Civil Rights movement and issues relating to African-American rights.  At the time many were against these rights and fought against allowing certain rights to be given to African-Americans.

Many alive today feel that those who fought against equality and inclusion of African-Americans were in the wrong, that those who fought to allow more equality for our African-American who are fellow citizens were the ones in the right.

I agree with that sentiment.  Does that make me woke?

-----------------------------------------------

Recently the term has been broadened by both groups on the Left and the Right to include the ideas regarding various rights and ideas regarding the LGBTQIA+ movement.  Conservatives have increasingly used it as an insult, while Liberals have used it to try to equate the LGBTQIA+ movement to the Civil Rights movements for racial equality.

Both sides do not necessarily inquire after how the African-Americans feel about them taking the term and using it for their own usage.

That said, in my university we do pay attention to the concerns raised by the LGBTQIA+ community and we are told to try to adhere to certain standards in regards to students and others who may identify in certain ways or patterns.  We are told to respect their wishes in certain aspects of their lives and personal feelings. 

So, yes, I work for a "Woke" employer I suppose.  I am immersed in the "Woke" culture that is found in many universities today.

I am also a Latter-day Saint who firmly believes in the gospel.  I am a fellow brother in the Church and I try to strictly follow the commandments that we have been given.

 

[prisonchaplain]

😁 I'm from the government. I'm here to help. 

[Ironhold]

20 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

I agree with that sentiment.  Does that make me woke?

If you'll recall, the term "dunce" is derived from a term used to identify the followers of a philosopher and theologian named Duns. 

To put it simply, Duns' followers were held in low regard by much of society, with the term "dunce" eventually coming to indicate a person who was ignorant and foolish, perhaps willfully so. 

Well, something similar has happened with the word "woke". 

Take a look at the political cartoon I attached. It depicts a black woman trying to speak her mind on a topic, only for a "woke" white woman to literally silence her and declare their intention to speak on the black woman's behalf since, they believe, the black woman is not up to the task or otherwise does not understand the "oppression" she is "fighting" against. 

Just as the people who are loudest about signaling their own virtue are the least likely to actually have any, the louder someone is about signaling their own "woke" nature the less likely they are to actually be aware of what's going on in the world around them. In extreme instances, they'll presume to speak for or advocate on behalf of the various groups they claim to be working in support of and then say or do things that are the polar opposite of what the people in these very groups actually want. 

For example, with Hispanic Heritage Month 2022, DC Comics decided to celebrate the occasion by doing special covers highlighting a number of their Hispanic characters. Problem was, the original versions of these covers all placed their Hispanic characters in the context of food. One such cover, the cover highlighting Rene Montoya (who is the current Question), depicted her standing against a blank white background while fruit randomly floated in the air around her. A very broad cross section of individuals from across all races protested how ignorant this was, and the covers were hastily redone; in Rene's case, the fruit was digitally edited out. 

It's for this reason that the term "woke" is now being used as a pejorative in describing people and things that are ostensibly "progressive" in nature but are badly out of step with society and possibly even promises to drag the world backwards. 

[Carborendum]

On 9/19/2023 at 4:37 PM, mordorbund said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwWe_SYRQNQ&t=3s

Well, they did threaten me with an LGBTQ-inator.

[Grunt]

I do.

[NeuroTypical]

3 hours ago, Grunt said:

I do.

THERE'S ONE - GET HIM!!!

[Carborendum]

23 hours ago, Ironhold said:

It's for this reason that the term "woke" is now being used as a pejorative in describing people and things that are ostensibly "progressive" in nature but are badly out of step with society and possibly even promises to drag the world backwards. 

At this company, they have a "support group" called (wait for it...) "Inspir-Asian."

Uhmmm...  Yeah...

What exactly do they do?  They didn't say.  They simply said that was the name of the group.  I have no idea how to even contact them to see what the heck they do.

[NeuroTypical]

23 hours ago, Ironhold said:

 

I've encountered at least half a dozen black social media accounts who tell stories of being treated exactly like this, with only slightly less exaggeration.  It's the "white savior" issue. 

To be honest though, my woke progressive buddies have discussed white saviorism, understand why it's a problem, and try hard to actually listen to 'people with marginalized identities' to see if they actually want some ally involvement, before butting in like that. 

[Grunt]

3 hours ago, NeuroTypical said:

THERE'S ONE - GET HIM!!!

Well, if you folks would start calling senators it could stop.

[Carborendum]

14 hours ago, Grunt said:

Well, if you folks would start calling senators it could stop.

I have.

I already think Cruz is doing what he can to fight wokism.

Cornyn doesn't listen to anyone.  He's sufficiently (fake) conservative enough to get the Republican vote.  And he's close enough to center to get some of the Democrat vote.  That's what happens when you hold a state-wide office in Texas.  So, he could just sit back and play pong (boy did I just age myself) all day long and he'd still get re-elected.  He simply doesn't care.

[rcthompson88]

Yes, being a public school administrator can be absolutely exhausting within this sphere.

[LDSGator]

On 9/22/2023 at 10:28 PM, rcthompson88 said:

Yes, being a public school administrator can be absolutely exhausting within this sphere.

I toyed with being an English teacher but I have no desire to deal with red tape, political correctness and parents who think their kid can do no wrong even when he lights his desk on fire. No regrets at all. 

[prisonchaplain]

2 hours ago, LDSGator said:

their kid can do no wrong even when he lights his desk on fire. No regrets at all. 

Well, hey, why wasn't there a flammable sign on the thing. How was my kid to know???!!!   🔥🧯🚒

[NeuroTypical]

2 hours ago, LDSGator said:

I toyed with being an English teacher but I have no desire to deal with red tape, political correctness and parents who think their kid can do no wrong even when he lights his desk on fire. No regrets at all. 

Not to mention parents who seem to get some sort of unholy glee from pushing against policies or procedures they don't like, and ennobling their kids to do the same. 

(By the way, that's me.  I was the parent who gets unholy glee from such things.  I ticked off several teachers, although other teachers and I got along fine, because they hated stupid rules too.)

[prisonchaplain]

16 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

(By the way, that's me.  I was the parent who gets unholy glee from such things.  I ticked off several teachers, although other teachers and I got along fine, because they hated stupid rules too.)

I seem to recall a story about a Utah teacher who had open reading time in the classroom. One student pulled out his Book of Mormon and the teacher said no, not religious books. Seeing that I thought, "There's a lawsuit just waiting to be filed."

[LDSGator]

11 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Not to mention parents who seem to get some sort of unholy glee from pushing against policies or procedures they don't like, and ennobling their kids to do the same. 

(By the way, that's me.  I was the parent who gets unholy glee from such things.  I ticked off several teachers, although other teachers and I got along fine, because they hated stupid rules too.)

I’m mostly with those parents bro. 

I absolutely made the right choice. I dreaded arguing with parents who want your head on a pike because you mentioned the word “evolution” in a science class or dared to tell a 12th grader that she still has to read Romeo and Juliet even though Shakespeare is a white heterosexual man. 

[Traveler]

I personally have never considered working for a company or corporation.  Rather I think in terms of working for individuals.  Since I cannot talk to a company or corporation – only individual people – I work for people.  In all honesty I have been rarely assigned to work under people that I do not consider someone I would continue to work for given any choice in the matter.

Sometimes I would request a reassignment, other times I would seek a new employer.  Whenever I interviewed for a position, I would request to talk to the individual that would be my boss or supervisor.  When asked why, I would respond that just as they were attempting to determine if I would be a good fit for them – I desired to determine if my supervisor would be a good fit for me.  Often, I would then be introduced to more than one to consider and in almost every case this determining from me was considered desirable by my possible supervisors.

I also thought that whenever I was being evaluated that I should evaluate my supervisors in like kind.  Seldom was this a problem because of relationships I had with those I worked with.  When it was a problem – I sought options.  There was one situation where my boss would tell me to do things that did not make sense - I approached him and asked why he was requesting ridiculous things of me.  He said that I never did exactly as asked anyway and in this situation there was such a disconnect within the company that he was unwilling to accept any responsibility in how things were likely to turn out.

 

The Traveler

[NeuroTypical]

I'm a sucker for a good summary.  Here's a good summary of how people are different in currently-paid-attention-to ways:

 

Now, here's how to woke:
1. Know something about every single box.
2. Understand that people tend to emphasize different boxes.  (For example, you can find a black disabled 40 yr old gay Nigerian immigrant male with neck down alopecia, a strong Nigerian accent, living in New York as a naturalized citizen, who is an atheist that graduated from college and is a caregiver for a mother with alzheimer's, is married, who has been your boss for 3 years.
3. Learn how to respect the folks checking boxes you don't understand.  No matter what sort of person shows up, treat them all equally.  But learn about the various box-checkers who have had a harder life than yours (or had a harder life historically).  Pay more attention to those than everyone else.  Take it on yourself to right what you feel are historical and current wrongs.  Struggle with how to define and do both 'equality' and 'equity' at the same time.

 

There.  There's my summary.   You may be tempted to believe that I'm aligning with or pushing woke.  Please understand that is not the case.  I'm just summarizing it.  Doing so helps me follow Sun Tzu's advice to Know thy enemy, while at the same time helping me follow Jesus' advice to Love thy neighbor.   Honestly, the older I get, I see less and less light between the two.

 

Anyway, if you want some commentary from me on what I think about the whole thing, here goes:  That last sentence of #3 is a doozie.  You simply can't react with equality while trying to make sure everyone has the same equitable outcome.  As you resolve the struggle in your own mind, you'll probably gravitate towards individual rights or group supremacy.  (Also known as right or left, liberty lover or authoritarian, equality of opportunity or equality of outcome.)