The idiom "give lip service to" means to express support or agreement with something or someone verbally, but not actually take any action to support or follow through with it. It is often used to describe a situation where someone is insincere or hypocritical in their support or agreement.
For example, if a politician says they support a certain policy but then does nothing to actually implement it, they could be said to be giving lip service to the policy. Similarly, if someone says they support a friend but then doesn't offer any help or support when needed, they could be accused of giving lip service.
This idiom is often used in a negative context to criticize someone for not following through on their words. It can also be used to express frustration with a situation where people are only paying lip service to a problem instead of taking real action to solve it.
In short, "give lip service to" means to talk the talk but not walk the walk.
• The company gave lip service to diversity and inclusion, but their hiring practices still favored white, male candidates.
• She gives lip service to environmental issues, but she never takes any real action to reduce her carbon footprint.
• He gives lip service to eating healthy, but he always ends up eating junk food.
• The president's promise to address income inequality was nothing more than lip service, as his policies only benefited the wealthiest Americans.
• The politician gave lip service to improving education, but his policies actually ended up cutting funding for schools.
• The CEO's speech gave lip service to corporate responsibility, but the company's track record of environmental damage told a different story.