Racial Justice

Racial Equity Audits

Investors and stakeholders are demanding that companies focus their attention on environmental, social, and governance impacts, with consideration for civil rights and social justice through racial equity audits. These audits can educate shareholders on their investments and also help these companies measure performance by diversity, equity, and inclusion-related goals.

Since 2016, companies like Airbnb, Facebook, and Starbucks underwent civil rights audits. Racial justice filings have increased by 60% compared to the previous season. In 2022, these filings became the second-most frequently filed category of resolutions, after 32 resolutions were filed asking for racial equity and civil rights audits.

Investors will continue to ask companies to consider reassessing their current policies and practices on communities of color. Companies that take proactive action may help progress with civil rights, social justice, and other issues, and see improvement in financial performance, increased shareholder value, and positive reputational impacts.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Diversity can be described as the presence of differences in identity or characteristics, such as gender, race, and sexual orientation usually within a group. Equity is the fair access, opportunity, and resources in which people can thrive. Inclusion can be described as the actions someone takes to understand and embrace the uniqueness and identity of others, so they feel appreciated and respected.

Women and non-white employees face difficult obstacles when dealing with DEI in the workplace. White applicants receive 36% more callbacks for jobs, while Black applicants receive 24% more than Latino applicants. For every 100 men who are promoted within the workplace, only 86 women get promoted.

ICCR members and colleagues have asked 18 companies to publish data on their workforce composition, recruitment, retention, and promotion rates by gender, race, and ethnicity. Some of these companies include American Express, Hasbro, Lululemon, Netflix, Paypal, and Salesforce.

Discriminatory Workplace Practices

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is used to enforce federal laws against discrimination in a workplace during different situations such as hiring, firing, promotions, training, wages, and benefits. Almost all states in the US have approved laws related to employment while protecting against discrimination based on race, gender, age, marital status, national origin, religion, or disability. If a state does not have these protections in place, the individual reporting the discrimination can still refer to federal law and the type in question.

Environmental Racism

Environmental racism is a form of racism where communities of color are forced to live in areas near toxic waste such as sewage works, mines, landfills, etc. due to policies and practices. This form of racism can take many forms, from workplaces with poor health regulations to coal-fired power stations close to predominantly non-white low-income communities. Other forms include citizens having to drink contaminated groundwater or having to reside in buildings with asbestos issues.

About 70% of contaminated waste areas are located near low-income neighborhoods and up to 2 million Americans live within a mile of areas that experience extreme flooding, with most of those areas being in Black and brown communities. Studies have shown that Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities are more likely exposed to public health risks, environmental racism, and climate injustice.