The Time for Leadership Courage Is Right Now

It would be a mistake to decide that White House overreach won’t touch the private sector. For business leaders, it’s time to collectively spend some moral capital — and get off the sidelines.

While the markets bounce wildly with each new tariff announcement from President Donald Trump, it’s probably good that you can’t invest in the fortitude of U.S. business leadership. If there were futures on spines, they would be down.

Societal, democratic, and economic norms are being severely tested by the edicts that have poured out of the White House since January. Anything that falls under the general category of sustainability — climate action, human rights, ESG (environmental, social, and governance), and of course DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) — is in a bear market in the U.S., given Trump’s demands that companies walk back their efforts. A handful of high-profile companies have explicitly backtracked on previous sustainability commitments in the wake of the new administration’s hostility and some — most notably some big law firms — have fully capitulated. But the vast majority have just gone silent.

https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-time-for-leadership-courage-is-right-now/