A case study in wokeness - Kiwibank

What does a woke DEI company look like, and what are they obsessed with? It’s definitely not focused on the customer. The staff will be okay though – as long as they play along.

As I mentioned last week, Diversity Equity & Inclusion is terminal. DEI has been about simply ramming down and enforcing viewpoints and ideologies rather than delivering good services and products and rewarding effort and excellence. It’s a form of Marxism which has never worked.

But there’s been a cultural tipping point. DEI is DIE-ing. But have NZ companies realised this?

It appears not.

So just a quick recap.

Diversity = Identity politics. Defined by your sexuality, gender, race, colour, disability – all called intersectionality. You’re a victim

Inclusion = We include everyone, BUT it’s based on our definitions which you must agree with. Language defined by the left e.g. their definition of marriage, gender, sexuality, decolonisation, environmentalism, critical theory based on certain racial groups being victims and white people being oppressors

Equity = Marxism 101. Everyone must have the same outcome irrespective of effort, talent, character

What DEI actually is…

Deception = confusion around gender, sexuality, and disunity – racial conflict

Inequality = Special ‘rights’ for special groups – the groups above

Exclusion = Cancel culture if your views don’t align with the new woke virtues

They say it’s about inclusion and diversity. It’s not.

The expectation is that every business, every charity, every organisation should adopt this philosophy.

But the DEI narrative seems to be slowly……DIE-ing. Partly because Donald Trump has removed any hint of it in any government department in the US since his inauguration.

But it was already crumbling – even before that.

McDonalds, Walmart, Target, Ford, John Deere, Harley-Davidson, Zoom, Google and Meta (Facebook), Microsoft – they’ve actually decided to focus on customers. Shock, horror.

And the reason DEI is crumbling is because the research it was based on was quackery.

The Wall Street Journal published an article about how the consulting firm McKinsey announced in 2015 that it had “found a link between profits and executive racial and gender diversity.”

This research was “used by investors, lobbyists, and regulators to push for more women and minority groups on boards, and to justify investing in companies that appointed them.

According to The Wall Street Journal, “academics have tried to repeat McKinsey’s findings and failed, concluding that there is in fact no link between profitability and executive diversity.” The only thing that the study found was that … Big companies that are highly profitable could more easily afford to simply promote DEI with fewer consequences. A company that’s scrambling to launch itself doesn’t have that luxury.

In other words, if you’ve got lots of money, you can afford to be woke. But most companies are struggling to survive, and just want to give a good experience to customers so that they come back again.

But what about in New Zealand

Sadly, there hasn’t appeared to be much movement.

It’s part of the reason we started the WokeUp website

Do a search on Air NZ, ANZ, ASB, ONE.nz, Starbucks, Spark. The Warehouse, Southern Cross, even the Police and the NZ Defence Force.

But I want to show you just how woke a woke company is.

And I’m going to use Kiwibank. There are plenty of companies I could showcase and I may do that over the coming months.

Some of this info you can see on our WokeUp.nz website.

We rate Kiwibank as extremely woke, especially on LGBTQI+ issues, DEI, and cultural virtue signalling.

You’ll soon see why.

Kiwibank Limited is a New Zealand state-owned bank and financial services provider. As of 2023, they are the fifth-largest bank in New Zealand by assets, and the largest New Zealand-owned bank, with a market share of approximately 9%.

Kiwibank was established in 2001 by the Labour Government.

Now Kiwibank say that their focus is offering “transactional products and services, savings accounts, credit cards and a range of lending solutions including home loans, commercial loans, asset finance and trade finance.”

Kiwibank’s virtue signalling includes:

“We’re passionate about creating a sustainable future for our customers, communities and the beautiful environment that we have in New Zealand. We do this across four key pillars – climate change, financial wellbeing, being inclusive and running our business responsibly.”

And then into the Gender Ideology & LGBTQ

We pride ourselves on our inclusive culture, one where everyone belongs, and is able to thrive. We’ve created Te Kahukura Kāpuia as a symbol of the pride we have in our Rainbow Community.” “Kahukura references ‘multicoloured’ and Kāpuia references ‘to gather or unite as one’. Kahukura Kāpuia uses the harakeke flax of our brand to weave the eleven colours of Pride with our own Kiwibank green to symbolise our strength and connectedness, our united view of inclusiveness, and our pride in our people.”

Kiwibank is Rainbow Tick Certified, and heavily involved in LGBTQI+ events and initiatives, including Pride Parade.

And in their media release

“Unequivocal support of LGBTTQIA+ communities from senior leaders at Kiwibank and an active Rainbow employee network were highlighted as areas of strength when the New Zealand owned bank was first certified with the Rainbow Tick in 2020.,,,

Kiwibank Chief Executive Steve Jurkovich said he was committed to creating a safe and welcoming workplace for members of the LGBTTQIA+ communities and he would keep up the mahi to ensure that the mana of LGBTTQIA+ people was upheld.

Unequivocal support of LGBTTQIA+ communities from senior leaders at Kiwibank and an active Rainbow employee network were highlighted as areas of strength when the New Zealand owned bank was certified with the Rainbow Tick this week.

…Rainbow Tick’s mission is to challenge heteronormativity and cisnormativity in the context of workplaces, contributing towards a future New Zealand where LGBTTQIA+ people can live free from discrimination.

Kiwibank has a Rainbow version of its logo , its own Rainbow symbol Te Kahukura Kāpuia, and has even created Rainbow Visa Cards.

“The new Rainbow design [Visa card] features Te Kahukura Kāpuia, as a symbol of the pride we have in our Rainbow Community.”

“We wanted a symbol of pride that sat alongside our Kiwibank logo and would be seen year-round, not just in PRIDE month.”

Kiwibank will help with the $200 cost of customers wanting to change their name – especially for transgender, non-binary and gender who are changing their identity – oh, but the money is definitely not available for other people who are changing their name for whatever reason. Just if you’re in the LGBT camp.

Of course, Kiwibank did themselves no favours being associated with controversial trans-Activist Shaneel Lal who was awarded Young New Zealander of the Year at the 2023 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Awards, following the disgraceful display of activists bullying, assaulting and shutting down a women’s rights campaigner in Albert Park – whipped up into a fury by said Shaneel Lal.

No – women aren’t forgetting about that one. It was tone deafness from the awards committee, and by association, Kiwibank.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Kiwibank has DEI policies and applies gender recruitment targets because they have….

The Gender Tick. In fact, Kiwibank was New Zealand’s first bank to receive the Gender Tick accreditation.

Committed to 40:40:20 gender split

40:40:20 – how does that work?

“We have made a commitment and our Board is fully behind our goal to have a workforce and board made up of 40 percent female and 40 percent male. The final 20 percent includes those who don’t identify as binary in terms of gender and also allows flexibility, meaning it doesn’t limit us to 50 percent female either.”

So it can be disproportionately female.

But definitely (!) no more than 40% dudes. That’s more than enough testosterone.

Climate alarmism

In terms of Climate Change, Kiwibank supports the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030, and has emissions reduction targets.

“By 2025, we’ll build a sustainable business by reducing our carbon emissions by 40%, be carbon neutral and support kiritaki (customers) to transition to a low-carbon future.”

“By 2030, we will deliver $2b in sustainable finance to improve the resilience of Aotearoa.”

“We’ve committed to converting 100% of our fleet to electric vehicles.”

Do they know who they may be buying those electric cars off??! Better not be Teslas!

Don’t tell them that EV battery production has a significant carbon footprint.

They say they will withhold banking services from any business that involves the “extraction, production and manufacturing of coal, oil and gas.”

So that’s bye bye electricity generation, heating, transportation, natural gas, infrastructure, cost effectiveness - technological, social, economic, and development progress, energy security….

Good luck getting those electric vehicles then.

Now in fairness they do have some Positive Policies & Activities

Financial Education for Children and Teens – “We’ve been working with Banqer, a financial education platform, since 2016 to enable classrooms to access Banqer Primary free to primary and intermediate students, and Banqer High discounted for high school students. 57, 142 students used Banqer in 2023.”

Helping low income Kiwis reduce high interest debt – Partnered with Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Trust to provide fee-free and interest-free microfinance loans for low income Kiwis struggling with debt.

And a generous paid parental leave allowance.

With President Trump cancelling DEI in governmental departments in the US, should NZ companies actually focus on all customers and all staff, and just do good business – rather than obsession with sexuality, gender, race, gender identity, and climate alarmism

Well, Kiwibank seems totally committed to DEI.

So is it just Kiwibank that’s woke? Definitely not. It’s a good example – but there are so many other companies in NZ, which you can see on our website WokeUp.nz

Will these kiwi companies rethink their approach.

Not if they listen to the NZ Institute of Directors who just put out this article:

[And the NZIOD is a professional body for directors of companies or members of boards and have about 10,000 members – according to their website.]

The shifting DEI landscape: Why directors should stay the course

Research consistently shows that diversity leads to more effective, long-term value creation.

False. We’ve already established that that’s not true.

Over the past year, and more noticeably in the past two months, a shift in the corporate stance on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has emerged, spurred by political pressures, changing market dynamics, and heightened scrutiny from shareholders and consumers, particularly in the United States.

Despite this evolving landscape, directors have a responsibility to recognise that maintaining and advancing DEI initiatives is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic one, critical to long-term business success.

Political rhetoric, the re-election of President Donald Trump and recent court rulings have amplified scepticism about the role of DEI in corporate strategy.… Some of President Trump’s earliest actions after his inauguration were an executive order halting DEI initiatives in all federal agencies …

Several high-profile corporations have publicly scaled back or reevaluated their DEI commitments in recent months. Companies like Meta, Ford, Amazon, Walmart and McDonald’s have faced criticism for reducing investments in DEI programs, citing economic challenges and shareholder concerns. As companies pull back from DEI, they risk alienating key stakeholders, including employees, customers and investors.

Despite the rhetoric, DEI policies and initiatives simply reflect a commitment to creating a workplace culture that promotes fairness, representation and a sense of belonging for all employees. DEI efforts often include training programmes, mentorship and inclusive policies such as parental leave policies, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies, flexible working arrangements, pay gap reporting and equal employment opportunities (EEO) policies.

Parental leave, equal opportunities, flexible working arrangements have nothing to do with DEI – as we’ve already established.

What DEI actually is…

Deception = obsession with and confusion around gender, sexuality, and disunity – racial conflict and climate alarmism (as we saw with the avalanche of Kiwibank material)
Inequality = Special ‘rights’ for special groups
Exclusion = Cancel culture if your views don’t align with the new woke virtues

They say it’s about inclusion and diversity. It’s not. Try going into a DEI meeting and reading the bible verses on marriage, or on being created male and female! Or that we are one in the sight of God.

Woke companies in New Zealand need a wake-up call.

And you’re just the customer to provide that with your purchasing dollar and choice of whom you deal with.

Just before I finish, there was news earlier this week that there is one political party willing to take on the woke banks. New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. The bill will ensure “fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate radicals. It will mean that no New Zealand business can be denied banking services unless the decision is grounded in law - it will stop banks imposing woke-riddled, expensive, deadweight costs on our productive sector.”

If enacted, it would mean banks would no longer be able to withdraw services from customers on environmental or social grounds. Any withdrawal of services would need to be made on a purely commercial basis. Banks found to breach the new rules could be liable to fines of up to $500,000.

Hee. I might forward that to Kiwibank.