One BILLION Dollars & Woke Washing

On June 2nd, 2020 CNN posted an article surrounding a Fortune 500 bank’s announcement that the company will be “donating $1 billion over the next four years to community programs and small businesses to help address economic and racial inequality…”
They reported that “… the money will expand health services, like vaccination clinics, in communities of color, "support" small businesses, and recruitment of new bank employees in economically disadvantaged communities.”

With an announcement like that, 99.9% of the public would be surprised to learn that racial inequality, gender inequality, as well as an abusive and toxic working environment are not only prominent and supported within this company, but that the company goes through great lengths to cover all of this up on a daily basis.
How can this company pledge to recruit new bank employees from economically disadvantaged communities when they are outright bullying, harassing, and erroneously firing women and people of color? This not only invalidates the very cause Though they are pledging to help, it creates hardships that impact the whole family when women and minorities are targeted and terminated without cause.
This is called Woke Washing (read more about this towards the bottom of this post).

Of course large corporations and banks will continue to cite “performance” or “behavior” related issues upon termination (verbally, never in writing as that “puts the company at risk” as I was told so many times as an Executive Leader) as a smoke and mirror tactic to continue operating a toxic, hostile, racist and sexist workplace.

Who thinks to keep their performance reports, or yearly reviews, in the event they are terminated without notice for “performance” (see testimonies to this fact in the “Testimonies” section) to back up their claims of erroneous termination? And it is literally unheard of for a terminated associate to turn down any money offered at the time of termination as a silence agreement; releasing the company from all liability related to the termination (which I was offered and refused to sign, something I have not seen anyone else do in the last 18 months of interviews I have conducted), which in turn keeps them from speaking out or showing proof of their claims to any agency.

I spoke to a reporter for the America Banker last week who told me that it is extremely rare for someone to turn down money at termination (which is why we don’t hear more from erroneously terminated associates regarding their treatment before termination). Not only are racist, sexist, or whistle blower terminations a complete surprise to the associate being terminated (by design, of course), the associate is so shocked at the time of termination that they are not thinking about their options; they are simply thankful they have some money to get through to their next job.
That is if they can get a job in the same industry; as having “termination” on your record, especially in the financial industry, is incredible damning to your future interviewers and hiring managers.

In September 2019 the American Banker published an article regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigating whether a Fortune 500 bank violated federal law by opening credit card accounts without customer authorization.

Not so coincidentally, I had been raising concerns regarding the unethical sales pressure, specifically surrounding credit cards, since March of 2019 (you can read more about this in the blog posts “The End Was the Beginning”, The Culture”, as well as within the “Testimonies” section where current and former associates shared how they were being intimidated, threatened, and pressured to push credit cards specifically.) The truth is that credit card is a huge revenue maker for the industry; banks make massive amounts of money on credit card fees, specifically from businesses that use credit card as a form of exchange/currency as they have to pay banks to be able to process credit card charges.

Because of the immense money making potential for credit cards, Executive score cards (how each individual Executive is ranked within the company which impacts promotions and year end bonuses) are weighted heavily on credit card sales.
Rhetorical question alert; as an Executive with a scorecard that weighs heavily on credit cards, which means your year end bonus depends on credit cards, how much “attention” are you going to put towards credit card sales on your team? Attention, or “pressure”, comes into play when what the Executive or company wants isn’t happening. Thus the threats, bullying, and terminations ensue.

Now on to Woke Washing

Woke washing is the appropriation of ethical and progressive values as a form of advertising just to make more profit while hiding the dark side of conventional capitalistic business management. Historically, it might resemble the 1980s concept of “greenwashing” or a form of corporate social responsibility, but it is on a whole other level. It is not a business self-regulation policy, but a trend. The fabrication of a ‘woke’ identity without enough information might alter and disenchant social conscience.

In an article written by Mark Shafer titled “Woke Washing: How purpose driven marketing is being hijacked” he writes that “companies everywhere are clamoring to be more sensitive, more gay, more #MeToo, or whatever the purpose du jour may be. Marketers are commodifying social movements, piling on to the latest cause to “out-purpose” the competition without taking the time to check their own company values and culture….Futurist Faith Popcorn said, “Advertising is dead. Over. Culture is the new media. Don’t buy an ad. Put your brand’s belief into the culture… The question is, how?”

Do bank’s Executive Leadership Teams walk the walk? Check out their Executive Leadership teams to see whether their boards are diversified.

If ending racism, sexism, and discrimination is a true goal, they need to first fix this toxic culture within their own company rather than distracting the public with positive PR efforts by announcing donations or tree planting parties in minority neighborhoods (wait….what?). Yes. You heard correctly. Planting trees in minority neighborhoods is one of the most publicized announcements to end racism.

Set a REAL and TRUE example. Do not hide what is happening within the company, be the first one to call it out and not only pledge to resolve it, but make public the plans with which you will do so, as well as progress reports.
Corporations have a chance to be a true example by changing the culture within, rather than continuing the toxic culture and pulling the public’s attention away from the facts by offering the shiny 1 billion dollars promise.