Levi's Unbuttoned (The Woke Mob Took My Job but Gave Me My Voice)

Jennifer Sey’s career at Levi’s began in 1999 as an assistant marketing manager. By 2013, she had risen to chief marketing officer and in 2020, was promoted to global brand president. It was widely assumed she would become the first woman CEO of the iconic brand. But for Sey, earning the right to fully express herself, especially on behalf of vulnerable children had been hard-won, and serves as the backdrop to the story. As a child and adolescent, she was among America’s top gymnasts, in 1986 winning the title of National Champion. But that success came at enormous personal cost, both physical and emotional – and she eventually became the first former gymnast to blow the whistle on the sport’s pervasive culture of abuse.

By then, she was already a top executive at Levi’s and the company hailed her for her courage. But just a few years later, when she refused to blindly follow the narrative on the government response to COVID-19, her previously loyal “woke” community turned on her. None of her prior political activism in support of children, racial equality in the workplace, or voting rights mattered. Nor did the fact that she was the executive sponsor of Levi’s Black Employee Resource Group. Nor the fact that she had led the company’s initiatives on gay rights, women’s reproductive rights, or gun control.

For all that, she was undeterred. She understood full well the long-term damage that school closures and virtual learning would have on an entire generation of children, and that the greatest burden would fall on the poorest and most vulnerable of them. After failing to rouse the interest of the mainstream media, Sey went on Fox’s The Ingraham Angle to plead her case -- and the internal pressure to fire her reached a fever pitch. Ultimately, Levi’s CEO finally told her that it had become “untenable” for her to remain at the company. Even then, Sey refused to a million-dollar severance package. Why? Had she taken the money, she would have been required to sign an NDA and stay silent about the whole affair—and that was too steep a price.

A riveting story of not only Sey’s 23-year career at Levi Strauss & Co. but of her prior experience as a world class gymnast, Levi's Unbuttoned is a riveting read. It is sure to be one of the top books of the 2022 holiday season.