A new report finds fewer Americans support corporate involvement and advocacy on social issues today than in 2022.
According to a survey by the Public Affairs Council (PAC), 57% of Americans surveyed said they support corporate political engagement efforts, down from 66% in 2022.
The report said the differences between Democrats and Republicans are “striking” because Republicans tend to be more pro-business than the left. In general, support for corporate involvement in “hot button” social issues has declined in the last year, with this decline attributed to politicians accusing corporations of being too “woke” The report suggests that this is possible.
Axios, which first reported the study, said that “no company wants to become a political football ahead of the 2024 election,” so how companies respond to social issues and what they do is important. He said it is important how the public views it.
Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that major corporations should be involved in issues of racial and gender discrimination. The survey found that Democrats prefer companies that take positions on voting rights, human rights, access to education, environmental improvement, affordable housing, and hunger.
Fifty-eight percent of Democrats say they support corporate advocacy for the DACA program, while 32% of Republicans say they want companies to participate in the program.
Companies were viewed more favorably by both Democrats and Republicans when they supported the environment and sustainability than when they supported DACA or abortion, for example.
“Not surprisingly, respondents were divided when asked about corporate involvement in the abortion issue,” the report said.
Slightly more than half of Democrats, 54%, say major corporations should participate in conversations about abortion rights, while 27% of Republicans agree.
Still, companies are gaining some recognition for their efforts to reduce racial discrimination. Twenty-six percent of Americans believe that businesses have played a positive role in reducing racial discrimination, an increase of 5 percentage points from last year. 15% said businesses had played a negative role, and 40% said there had been no change in reducing racial discrimination nationally.
The results of the PAC study mirror other similar reports. A Bentley University/Gallup poll in May found that more people now believe that companies should not take public positions on current events than they did a few years ago.
PAC’s survey was conducted among 2,219 adults between September 1 and 3, and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
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