82 pc of tech professionals favour CEO activism: Survey

About 82 per cent of tech professionals have a favourable opinion of CEO activism and 81 per cent feel these executives have a responsibility to speak up about issues important to the society, as per a survey conducted in seven countries including India.

The survey on technology professionals in the US, Canada, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, China and India has found out high levels of positivity toward CEOs who speak out on hotly debated current issues.

The survey was conducted by global communications and marketing services firm Weber Shandwick in partnership with KRC Research.

In India, 88 per cent tech professionals favour CEOs taking a position on hotly debated current issues, the survey said.

It also noted that favourability for CEO activism is not limited to those employed by companies in the technology sector.

Tech professionals who work for technology companies have a slightly higher favourability than those in non-tech companies (86 per cent against 81 per cent, respectively), it said.

On many key measures of CEO activism, female tech professionals hold more positive views of CEOs speaking out than their male peers.

They are more likely to agree that CEOs need to defend company values, have a more favourable opinion overall of CEO activism and are more likely to feel CEOs have a responsibility to speak out.

Notably, 80 per cent of women say loyalty to their employers would increase if their organisations were led by CEO activists, the study said.

Job training, equal pay and data privacy are the top issues technology professionals want CEOs to address, it said.

Gender equality is more highly ranked by non-tech sector employees.

"With technology at the forefront of so many businesses today, tech professionals are highly sought-after group, no matter the market or sector," said Lydia Lee, co-head of global technology, and chair, emergent China practice, Weber Shandwick.

The survey titled 'CEO Activism in 2018: The Tech Effect' provides a framework of how this select audience functions and reflects the expectations that the current workforce anticipates from their CEO on societal issues, Lee added.