Cultural intelligence can help managers bridge political and ideological divides.

“I think the idea is to set a norm of corporate political neutrality,” argues Sean Westwood of the Polarization Research Lab.

Women are more than half the population, and underrepresented at every level of government. To fix this, more women need to run for office. 

Some companies argue that unions mobilize workers around certain issues or candidates — but union leaders are often democratically elected.

“Very often, the workplace is the only place we might run into people with very different beliefs than us,” noted Alison Taylor, executive director of the think tank Ethical Systems.

As political polarization in the U.S. proliferates, some companies have discouraged or banned employees from participating in political speech — with complex results.

Beyond the intrinsic value of gender parity in politics, there’s evidence that getting more women elected and politically active makes good economic sense too. Let’s do the numbers. 

Partisanship is “making the workplace less efficient,” warns Sean Westwood, director of the Polarization Research Lab at Dartmouth College.

Companies risk alienating a portion of their customer base if their political positions don’t fit with their brand identities, warns marketing professor Eric Van Steenburg.

Environmentalism is a cause that’s deeply important to the outdoor clothing and gear brand.