The Conservative Push To Reclaim Corporate America From Leftist Agendas

For decades, leftist activists deftly navigated corporate shareholder meetings, successfully bullying risk-averse corporate executives into submission on everything from irrational climate mandates to divisive race and gender-based initiatives.    

Conservatives played catch up, with The Heritage Foundation at the tip of the spear against corporate wokeism in publicly traded companies.  

With decades as an influential think tank, Heritage knew how to build the coalitions and advance messaging frameworks to shift the debate—and it did. Now it is moving directly into the fray of shareholder activism by using its financial muscle in the boardroom debates of blue-chip U.S. companies.  

Heritage is blazing an important trail, armed with the resources to counter universities that have not been shy about asserting their leftist influence over corporations and asset managers on issues like supporting the anti-Israel boycott, divest and sanction (the BDS movement).  

Heritage is now using its voting shares to place proposals on the ballots of corporate America. Heritage and its legal partner, Alliance Defending Freedom, emerged victorious this month in a challenge against IBM in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates markets. 

The SEC ruled IBM shareholders can vote on a resolution filed by Heritage requiring IBM’s board of directors to issue a report about the effects of the company’s DEI policies at IBM’s annual shareholder meeting April 29.  

Troublingly, IBM’s chief executive was caught on camera bragging about embracing race-based quotas in hiring, leading to a lawsuit from the Missouri attorney general due to a recent Supreme Court ruling. 

“Americans have woken up to the reality that their pensions, savings, and investments are being used to push corporate agendas that don’t align with their values,” said John Backiel, Heritage’s vice president of finance and accounting. “A growing number of forward-thinking companies have already rolled back their DEI policies, and the sooner the rest follow suit, the better.” 

ADF is also helping Heritage place shareholder proposals at Airbnb and CVS.  

At Airbnb, Heritage is calling for resistance to antisemitic demands for divestment from Israel.  

Jerry Bowyer of Bowyer Research noted in his Substack that “Airbnb has previously taken down listings in Israel, and more recently faced calls from external activists to do so since October 7.” 

Among many of Heritage’s partners is the State Financial Officers Foundation, where I previously served as an economic research fellow and where Boyer served on the national advisory board. In fact, it was a series of Innovation Prizes awarded from the storied policy leader that spurred activity by SFOF and ADF and others on the issues. 

The State Financial Officers Foundation is a coalition of 28 state financial leaders. During the heat of the Biden administration, the group brought its market force to bear—roughly $3 trillion in public assets under management—to force banks and other financial institutions to quit targeting conservatives and imposing far-left ideologies on taxpayers.  

“Heritage is the first big political nonprofit over the wall on corporate engagement, and they’re an excellent example of the willingness it’s going to take to build the push for political neutrality nationwide,” Bowyer continued. “Every conservative and faith-based nonprofit, whether in D.C. or elsewhere should be using their financial leverage in similar ways. It’s our hope that many will follow Heritage’s example here—and we can’t wait to be a part of that process.” 

While I don’t like to see partisan battles playing out in corporate boardrooms, I am looking forward to organizations like Heritage holding corporations accountable for when they veer off into leftist ideology.  

Customers are best served by companies that remain focused on creating value and serving them rather than weaponizing business for political ends and forcing shoppers to embrace world views unaligned with their values. 

Carrie Sheffield is a senior policy analyst for the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women’s Forum. 

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