0 months ago
Corporate Silence on Gen Z Protests Comes With a Price
Many young people in India, a generation called Gen Z, held peaceful protests to ask for fairness and honest government.
They used dancing, singing, livestreaming and memes to share their message.
Some companies stayed completely quiet about the protests.
One customer showed their disappointment by switching their family's butter brand from Amul to Milky Mist.
The authors of this article say silence is still a choice, and it can cost a company customers.
Young people buy a big part of everything sold in the world, so their opinions matter to businesses.
Gen Z cares about fairness, the environment, and being treated with respect at work.
Companies can respond by supporting good governance, helping redesign exams, or simply pausing their marketing.
The article says companies that listen to young people early will win loyal customers, while those that ignore them are betting against their own future.
A Delhi consumer said on social media that their family switched from Amul butter to Milky Mist because the 'Amul girl' had refused to speak up for students in the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests.
Gen Z-led movements across India, Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal are demanding action against inequalities, corruption and threats to democratic rights, while business leaders have largely stayed silent.
Zoho's Sridhar Vembu called the CJP movement a 'malicious agenda' hindering national progress, and Skyroot's Suresh Kochhattil urged young people not to be 'cockroaches'.
Indian companies spent roughly $5 billion on CSR in 2024-25, but the article argues that political and bureaucratic interference routinely dilutes its impact.
Gen Z makes up close to a third of the global population and roughly 40 percent of global consumers, with spending projected to reach $12 trillion by 2030.
- Who
- Gen Z protesters in India (notably the Cockroach Janta Party movement), business leaders such as Zoho's Sridhar Vembu and Skyroot's Suresh Kochhattil, and authors Hari Bapuji and Pankhuri Agarwal.
- What
- An analysis arguing that corporate silence on Gen Z-led protests over inequalities, corruption and democratic rights is a costly choice, and urging businesses to engage with the generation instead.
- Where
- India, with parallel Gen Z-led movements also mentioned in Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal.
- When
- In the weeks following the Cockroach Janta Party protests, with 2024-25 as the reference year for CSR spending figures.
- Why
- Because Gen Z demands fair economic opportunity and better governance, which shape the conditions for growth, and because this generation will be the future workforce and a dominant consumer market.
Engage: Corporate silence is a costly choice
Dismiss: The protests are a distraction from progress
Judging the Cockroach Janta Party protests
Engage: Corporate silence is a costly choice
The CJP is a peaceful, constitutionally grounded movement with serious structural demands; business leaders should engage with it rather than dismiss it.
Dismiss: The protests are a distraction from progress
Zoho's Sridhar Vembu criticised the movement as a 'malicious agenda' hindering national progress, and Skyroot's Suresh Kochhattil urged young people not to be 'cockroaches'.
Corporate silence on political issues
Engage: Corporate silence is a costly choice
Silence is not neutrality but a visible, punishable position that risks customers, talent and goodwill, as seen in the Amul-to-Milky Mist switch.
Dismiss: The protests are a distraction from progress
Most CEOs have stayed silent, effectively treating corporate silence as a safe, neutral stance that avoids taking a side in political movements.
Gen Z's workplace demands
Engage: Corporate silence is a costly choice
Behaviours like 'quiet quitting', 'acting your wage' and 'bare minimum Mondays' are a preview of legitimate expectations around sustainability, social impact and work-life balance.
Dismiss: The protests are a distraction from progress
Gen Z workers have instead been labelled lazy and entitled by critics of these demands.
Key facts
- Article type
- Opinion-analysis commentary by two academics
- Authors' affiliations
- University of Melbourne (Bapuji) and King's College London (Agarwal)
- Gen Z share of global population
- Close to a third
- Gen Z share of global consumers
- Roughly 40 percent
- Projected Gen Z spending by 2030
- $12 trillion
- India's Gen Z population
- Over 377 million
- Indian CSR spending 2024-25
- Roughly $5 billion
- Brands called out by CJP supporters
- Netflix, LinkedIn, Nike, Coca-Cola and Lakmē
Quotes
Delhi consumer
Anonymous consumer who posted on social media in Delhi
“The Amul girl has refused to speak up for the students (in the Cockroach Janta Party protests)”
indianexpress.com
Sridhar Vembu
CEO of Zoho, Indian tech company
“malicious agenda”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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