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Working with Crain’s editors, researchers at The Harris Poll will poll a representative sample of C-suite executives in metro Chicago each month to detect changes in their outlook and sentiment.

Future polls will explore other topics of civic and economic importance, including racial inequities and corporate diversity efforts, workplace and management issues, consumer attitudes toward prominent Chicago-based brands and Illinois voters’ preferences in upcoming elections.

“As market research experts, we know there’s a link between the viewpoints of the electorate and the success of government at all levels,” says Will Johnson, CEO of The Harris Poll. “We’re here to help Crain’s readers better see that connection or, as we may also see, that disconnection.”

“We at The Harris Poll also are driven by our own rootedness to Chicago,” Johnson says. “My family and I live in Chicago, and I have a deep interest in doing what I can so that the city can thrive as a world-class commercial capital where people want to raise families and grow businesses.”

For over 40 years, Crain's Chicago Business has been the premier source of local business news and information for the Chicago area's influential business executives. Every week Crain's print edition delivers scoop-oriented articles, enlightening features and invaluable industry rankings. Crain's award-winning website, ChicagoBusiness.com, is an essential online tool for news, information and statistics about doing business in Chicago. Crain's Chicago Business is a Crain Communications Inc publication.

An exclusive Harris survey finds a majority of Americans are cautious about venturing back into the office—and believe health should be prioritized over the economy for now.

Americans generally approve of how state and local officials have handled the COVID-19 pandemic. But even as a significant minority pushes for a faster reopening, most are worried to very worried about what will happen later this fall, with a whopping 1 in 3 saying office buildings should not reopen for at least a few months—if ever.

Here are the highlights.

Asked how their local mayor or governor is doing so far, 78 percent and 76 percent, respectively, give marks of at least “fair," with 51 percent and 54 percent saying “very good” or “good.”

Similarly, a clear majority, 57 percent, said the economic reopening and easing of stay-home orders should not have occurred more quickly. Public opinion among Midwest residents surveyed generally tracks the national figures, with 59 percent approving of the timing and 41 percent disapproving.

Consumers are split along racial, age, gender, geographic and political lines: Ad Age-The Harris Poll

Companies using stereotypical Black characters or names on product packaging agree: It's time to review brand imagery to avoid contributing to systemic racism.

Last month, Cream of Wheat, Aunt Jemima, Mrs. Butterworth's and Uncle Ben's announced brand reviews after finding themselves in the spotlight amid the growing racial justice movement. The moves come months after Land O'Lakes began removing the image of a Native American woman from its packaging.

Customers, however, are sharply divided on the issue along racial, age, gender, geographic and political lines, according to the latest Ad Age-The Harris Poll, conducted among almost 2,000 consumers—894 men and 1,068 women—nationwide.

Among the Ad Age-The Harris Poll findings:

Younger generations want more change. Fifty-two percent of 18-to-34-year-olds believe the image on Aunt Jemima products should be replaced, compared with 47 percent of 35-to-49-year-olds, 32 percent of 50-to-64-year-olds and 33 percent of those 65 and older.

"An absolute disgrace and truly disgusting!" said an 18-year-old white woman from Florida. "America is one of the worst places for racism and it's terrible that people of color have to live this way. But white people don't want to hear about racism? It's a shame."

More men than women believe these products should be rebranded. Just 19 percent of women believe Cream of Wheat packaging perpetuates a damaging racial stereotype, compared with 32 percent of men.

"Aunt Jemima for one is not in any way an insult to anyone," said a 65-year-old New Jersey woman. "It is just a great brand name that is an institution. This goes for other branding." And from a 61-year-old Indiana woman: "Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's, etc., are brands that have been around forever [and] for me just a brand name and had no more meaning than that."

Eighty-one percent of women regard Cream of Wheat as a well-known and trusted brand that would be throwing away equity built up over the years by rebranding, compared with 68 percent of men.

In some cases, women feel more strongly about the need to replace existing imagery. Forty-one percent of women believe Aunt Jemima should change the image on its packaging, compared with only 32 percent of men.

Republicans think it's less important for companies to rebrand. Eighty-two percent of Republicans strongly/somewhat agree that the brands are fine and that they are being too politically correct, compared with 56 percent of Democrats.

"All this is getting out of hand and people need to stop already," said a 40-year-old woman from California, whose political affiliation was not given, echoing the sentiment.

African-Americans are most supportive of rebranding. Fifty-one percent of Black men and 64 percent of Black women believe Aunt Jemima should be rebranded, compared with 47 percent and 32 percent of white men and women, respectively. For Uncle Ben’s 47 percent of Black men and 52 percent of Black women support rebranding, compared to 37 percent and 24 percent, respectively, of white men and women.

Several Black respondents said rebranding is only a start.

"Get rid of racially insensitive images, but recognize that it's not enough," said a 35-year old Black woman from Virginia. "More needs to be done, such as ensuring Black people have leadership positions in your company, including positions in the C-suite."

Will Johnson, CEO of The The Harris Poll, outlined the opportunity for brands:

"It is clear from the data that CPG companies need to listen most to communities whose likeness are being portrayed by these brands, he said. "Most African-Americans—and two thirds of Black women—say Aunt Jemima is perpetuating a damaging racial stereotype, and almost half put Uncle Ben's, Mrs. Butterworth, Cream of Wheat and Chiquita Banana in this same category."

The Ad Age-The Harris Poll asked consumers' opinions about brand names and imagery perpetuating racial stereotypes, whether names and imagery should be changed and whether brands would be missed if discontinued. Some respondents also had messages for companies both using such imagery as well as those planning to change it.

The poll also found that:

City dwellers favor changes to brand images more than 2-to-1 over rural residents. Fifty-six percent percent of urbanites, for instance, say Aunt Jemima should replace the image on its products, compared with 26 percent of rural residents.

"Don't use stereotypes," said a 37-year-old New York woman. A 38-year-old New York woman put it this way: "These characters depict racial stereotypes that subjugate Black people and demean them and their humanity."

Three-quarters of all racial groups say they'd continue buying these products under a new brand name. Sixty-six percent of white people would miss Aunt Jemima, compared to 54 percent of African-Americans and 72 percent of Hispanics.

"Brands should also take guidance from other products that have successfully rebranded after they were called out for perpetuating damaging racial stereotypes—such as Frito Bandito," Johnson says. "Aunt Jemima, under a new name and/or image, would, too, based on this poll."

Brands hoping to gain customer support by eliminating racial stereotypes from packaging might be surprised by this poll finding: Some consumers who support brand refreshes also think brands are being too politically correct.

Sixty-one percent of 18-to-34-year-olds believe brands are being too politically correct, while 51 percent of the same age group believe brands should remove harmful stereotypes.

The breakdown by race:

Among white respondents, 73 percent of men and women say brands are being too politically correct, while 46 percent of men and 32 percent of women support the removal of racial stereotypes.

Among Black respondents, 59 percent of men and 47 percent of women say brands are being too politically correct, while 48 percent of men and 72 percent of women support the removal of racial stereotypes.

One respondent, a 66-year-old Black man from North Carolina, had his own suggestion for brands.

"Aunt Jemima pancake syrup and mix and Uncle Ben's rice, a lot of us grew up with these brands and enjoyed them very much," he said. "So don't change a thing."

NO CONSENSUS ON REMOVING RACIAL STEREOTYPES FROM PACKAGING

Consumers are divided by race, gender, age, income, and politics

Numbers reflect percentage of consumers in each demographic (gender, race, etc.) who endorse rebranding, believe brands are perpetuating damaging racial stereotypes and who would miss certain brands if discontinued.

Read the full article at Ad Age.

Nearly all men between the ages of 35 and 44 — 96% — were still working the same job as before the pandemic, only 60% of women the same age were, according to the survey of 2033 Americans. The latest unemployment rate shows 8.9% unemployment for men in that age group and 9.4% for women in June.

A similar discrepancy shows up between men and women who are 45 to 54. More than three-quarters of men that age have the same job, but just under 6 in 10 women do, the survey found.

That difference, among others found in the survey, could mean it will take longer for women to recuperate from the pandemic’s economic effects — if they ever fully do.

“This recession already has undone years of work, and the implication for women in particular, really may be very long-lasting,” said Martha Gimbel, manager of economic research at Schmidt Future. “Losing a year of work is really devastating. That's what a lot of people are facing if the public health crisis doesn't get under control.”

Middle-aged women also fare worse than men when they become unemployed. Women between 35 and 54 are more likely to say job loss is permanent compared with men the same age. Just 1% of men between 35 and 44 and 45 and 54 report a permanent job loss, versus 8% of women between 35 and 44 and 4% of women between 45 and 54, according to the survey.

Women are more likely to work in sectors like state, local government, and education that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and will need more time to recover from this crisis.

“We are facing a long period of depressed consumer demand and women tend to work in services, but the service-providing industry has been devastated in this recession,” Gimbel said. “So, women may take a long time to see the jobs that they've been working in come back.”

‘It's hard to enjoy working from home when it involves doing two jobs’

‘Going to have really long repercussions’

Two-thirds of women between 34 and 45 found the government stimulus payment or unemployment benefits a great deal or somewhat helpful, compared with almost three-quarters of their male counterparts.

Women also see their financial recovery taking longer, with 84% of men between 35 and 44 anticipating their spending returning to normal in the next year, compared with just over half of women in the same age group.

This “is going to have really long repercussions,” according to Gimbel.

“So much of the gender wage gap is explained by differences in occupation and industry, and right now, you know it's going to be harder for women to make those moves into higher-paying occupations,” she said. “We can really see the gender wage gap held back by this for a really long period of time.”

Read the full article at Yahoo Finance.