The Radical Intolerance Behind Woke Corporate Activism
You’ve probably heard of the classic rhetorical question known as the paradox of tolerance: should we tolerate the intolerant? Equally as important as that question, however, are the presuppositions embedded in it: who decides who the intolerant actually are, and what exactly does it mean to not tolerate them in civil society? Rest easy, a corporate activist group called the Human Rights Campaign has graciously shouldered the burden of deciding who America’s biggest businesses should and shouldn’t tolerate. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably on the blacklist.
What is the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)? Formed in 1980, the group is currently the most dominant force pushing progressivism and non-fiduciary activism through the boardrooms of corporate America. Much of this is done through a ranking system known as the Corporate Equality Index, which grades how ‘inclusive’ companies are on a scale of 1–100. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conditions for a perfect score aren’t merely tied to nondiscrimination (because that would be too easy), but conveniently have to do with how far a company is willing to go to validate Left-wing cultural talking points.
Recently, the HRC released its 2025 edition of the Index. Allow me to walk you through a few of the “tolerant” and “inclusive” talking points contained within. The HRC will drop a company’s score (in other words, brand a company less tolerant) for:
- “undue influence by a significant shareholder calculated to undermine a business’ practices related to its LGBTQ+ employees.” In other words, listening to shareholders concerned about the impact of woke policies.
- “advocating for public policies or regulations related to LGBT+ equality that would be detrimental to employees and their families.” This could mean anything, including policies aimed at protecting religious liberty and free expression.
And maybe most egregiously:
- “directing corporate charitable contributions to organizations whose primary mission includes advocacy against LGBTQ+ equality.” Underneath all those nice-sounding words is a sinister reality: donating to organizations that push back on the extremes of gender ideology is now intolerant—and not to be tolerated.
Let’s not mince words about who that includes: That means countless religious nonprofits; countless educational institutions; countless ministry and humanitarian organizations that do incredible good for humanity are all considered intolerant. Chances are, that also means your personal place of worship. Any business that dares to support these sorts of organizations, or the groups that support them, is intolerant under the dictates of the policing activists at HRC.
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And despite encouraging recent trends, corporate America is still listening to these activist sentiments. Take Meta. They recently phased out fact-checking in an apparent win for free speech and online expression. Yet, they currently have a perfect score on the HRC’s Index. Brands like Amazon, Target, Google, Chase, Microsoft, & Disney? All top-tier sponsors of an organization that considers donating to a religious pregnancy center a mark of inexcusable bigotry.
The only real bigotry and radicalism here is their own. Activist groups like HRC, in claiming to fight for tolerance, embrace intolerance at the first sign of anything less than total fealty to their radical demands. They’re more than happy to (inaccurately) paint critics of DEI and ESG as “far-right” radicals, “aimed at rolling back progress for non-discrimination.” 2024 saw many businesses cut ties with the HRC — and in response, the HRC smeared them as “retreating from inclusion,” because being pro-business, to corporate activists, apparently stops the minute you don’t get what you want.
2025 should be the year that the pendulum truly swings away from the HRC. It’s far past time to stop using corporate resources (read: shareholder money) to appease activists who believe that covering puberty blockers for children is an indispensable element of a company’s healthcare plan. The corporate engagement work that many in the DEI/ESG skeptic crowd, including myself, engage in every day, is not about pressuring companies into some “conservative” version of corporate activism. It’s about true political neutrality across the board — zero discrimination, zero partisan side-taking, and zero biased policies.
The HRC, and many of the other activist organizations we’re up against, apparently don’t want that. And that says far more about them than it does about anyone else.
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Isaac Willour is an award-winning journalist focusing on race, culture, and American conservatism, as well as a corporate relations analyst at Bowyer Research. His work has been featured at outlets including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times Opinion, C-SPAN, and The Daily Wire. He is a member of the Young Voices contributor program and can be found on X @IsaacWillour.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.