After the televised murder of George Floyd, systemic racism became front page news and led companies, investors, and consumers to acknowledge their roles in perpetuating racist policies and practices. While companies issued statements of support, investors and consumers began demanding corporate transparency and disclosure on racial and ethnic diversification. Companies have started to realize that heightened awareness of systemic racism, and corporate inaction, materially risks revenue growth and brand value. Conversely, promoting racial justice can increase profitability and competitive advantage.
Read moreRacial Justice Audits: Holding Companies Accountable for Their Role in System Racism
In a set of new engagements, investors want companies in multiple industries to conduct racial justice audits to evaluate how institutionalized racism impacts their policies and business practices. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter marches, the shareholder proposals warn that the outpouring of public commitments to racial equity will be seen as empty promises if they are not backed up with substance.
Read morePublic Funding, Drug Pricing, and Equal Access for COVID-19 Vaccines
Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) want pharmaceutical companies to disclose more on the impact of public funding for COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutic medicine access and pricing.
Read moreInvestors Demand Proof of Effective Diversity and Inclusion Programs
In conversations earlier this year, a to-remain-nameless company commented that it recognized it was time to finally release its consolidated EEO-1 form. When asked to also release data related to its recruitment, retention and promotion rates of diverse employees, however, it demurely declined. Afterall, it explained, its EEO-1 looked fine and its recruitment efforts were strong. Retention, the company representative commented, was their big problem. Diverse employees leave soon after joining.
Read moreNew York City Launches Campaign for Company Diversity Disclosure
High-profile killings of Black men and women in 2020 highlighted the grave consequences of systemic racism in our society, sparked nationwide protests for racial justice, and prompted many companies, including at least 67 S&P 100 companies, to publicize their commitments to racial equity and diversity. We believe demonstrable commitments to hire, equitably compensate, retain, and promote Black employees, other employees of color, and women can contribute not only to a more just society, but also to improved company performance.
Read moreHuman Rights Protections for Workers in Food Supply Chains Vulnerable to COVID-19
The essential workers who harvest, pack, and process our food are at heightened risk of exposure to, and death from, Covid-19. More than 87,000 meatpacking workers, food processing workers, and farmworkers have tested positive, and a recent study showed that agricultural workers have suffered the highest Covid-19 death rate of any occupation. This disproportionate vulnerability to Covid-19 must also be understood in the context of well-documented human rights violations in U.S. agriculture, including modern-day slavery and sexual abuse.
Read moreU.S. Companies Face Scrutiny Over Partisan Spending
Following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Congress in Washington, attention turned to corporate political support for the 147 members who voted to overturn the November election results and the 43 senators who voted to acquit President Trump in his second impeachment trial. Dozens of companies announced they would “pause” PAC spending and critics of political spending saw an opportunity to tighten the corporate purse strings. But spending immediately following a general election always drops, and it remains far from clear if the spigots will remain off, with a tight Democratic majority in Congress and contentious policymaking ahead.
Read moreBusiness and Political Spending: An Epiphany?
Will January 6th become an epiphany for U.S. public companies and their political spending? The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol turned a spotlight on their contributions to the 147 senators and House members who opposed certification of the 2020 presidential election results. In reaction, more than 40 companies announced they would withhold PAC support for these members or pause all PAC contributions.
Read moreClimate Lobbying: A Critical Way to Address the Climate Crisis
The groundswell of companies committing to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner, to align with climate science and the goals of the Paris Agreement, has been encouraging. Investors continue to play a significant role in garnering many of these climate commitments, including through engagement initiatives like the Climate Action 100+, where approximately half of the focus companies have committed to set net-zero goals. Still, while these commitments are essential, investors require assurance that companies are taking congruent actions to ensure their public policy activities – and those of their trade associations –also align with global climate goals.
Read moreCapitol Riot, Bribes and Astroturfing: Dark Money Lobbying Requires Transparency
The U.S. Capitol riot on January 6 underscores the need for companies to disclose lobbying funded by dark money contributions, including all third party spending used to affect public policy. In the aftermath of the attack, many companies announced they would stop making political contributions in 2021 to lawmakers who voted to reject the election certification. But the question should be whether these emergency measures to repair reputational damage should become something more lasting.
Read moreCould Lobbying Disclosure At Boeing Have Prevented Oversight Lapses That Led To Fatal Crashes?
Boeing is one of the biggest corporate spenders on federal lobbying, spending over $166 million since 2010, and Boeing’s reputation and financial health remain at serious risk in the wake of two fatal crashes of its 737 MAX.
Read more2020: Year Of Reckoning For Companies On Political Spending
As the 2020 proxy season unfolds, this is the moment to assess the real impact of corporate political spending, the heightened risk companies and our society face, and what more needs to be done to address it.
Read moreWhat Pay Ratio Disclosure Can Tell Us About Decent Work
Under a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, companies must disclose the ratio of the pay between the CEO and the company’s median employee. While shareholders had insight into executive compensation under prior rules, this is the first insight into median employee pay. It should not be skimmed as another number amongst so many in a proxy statement but considered for the insight it may offer into decent work.
Read moreIt’s Time For An Honest Accounting Of Pay Equity
In December 2019, Starbucks became the second U.S. company to disclose the full story of gender and racial pay equity. The retailer disclosed both its “equal pay” gap and its “median pay” gap for women and minority workers. The headline here is that there was no gap on either basis in the United States—a rarity among companies. In fact, Starbucks’ median pay results stand in sharp contrast to the 20 percent gender pay gap for the U.S. workforce and the 30 percent gap for the retail industry.
Read moreYou Can’t Break The Glass Ceiling Without A Promotion
In the finance industry, there is a mind-boggling 32 percent gap between women represented in entry level roles and women in the executive suite; women make up 56 percent of entry level positions and 24 percent of executives. Finance is not an anomaly. In transportation, logistics, and infrastructure, the gap is 43 percent, healthcare’s gap is 40 percent, and consumer packaged goods’ gap is 35 percent. There is no industry without a significant valley. We know that these valleys also exist around race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other immutable characteristics. We are still lacking sufficient public data to understand just how pervasive or extensive these gaps are.
Read moreMajority Shareholder Votes Put Spotlight On C-Suite Diversity
Evidence continues to mount that ethnic, racial, and gender diversity at the highest levels of leadership is enormously important to a well-functioning organization. The gains made by corporations to diversify both their boards and senior executive ranks are noteworthy and investor engagement has played a valuable role in these advances.
Read moreOpioid Crisis & Insulin Prices Prompt Shareholder Push For Big Pharma Board Accountability
In July 2019, Investors for Opioid Accountability, which has been at the forefront of the fight against the opioid crisis, broadened its focus to encompass companies with insulin and generic legal risks and those under scrutiny for anticompetitive practices. Now known as Investors for Opioid and Pharmaceutical Accountability (IOPA), this diverse global coalition of 60 public, faith-based, labor, and sustainability funds, as well as asset managers, represents investors with more than $4.4 trillion in assets under management.
Read moreThe Business Case For Reproductive Health
Reproductive health is a business issue—this is the message that a new campaign wants companies and investors to know and to act upon. The effort is led by Rhia Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture firm specializing in contraceptive and maternal health investments.
Read moreInvestors Want Auto Industry To Shift Gears On Human Rights
Accountability for corporate supply chain impacts is now before the courts as Tesla and five other companies face a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 14 children and parents from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for allegedly “aiding and abetting in the death and serious injury of children who claim they were working in cobalt mines in their supply chain.” This risk faces all companies in the automotive industry, which relies on complex, extended supply chains to source the wide range of raw materials that go into the 30,000 different parts in a vehicle. Despite the prevalence and severity of risks like forced labor and hazardous working conditions, many companies in the sector fail to conduct effective human rights due diligence, with gaps in policy implementation, impact assessments, and disclosure.
Read moreA Tale Of Two Prisons: Human Rights For Inmates And Detainees
At the turn of this century, the United States saw increased use of private prisons because of more incarceration, aging local prisons, and a belief that contracting private prisons was cheaper. Cities, counties, and states began to contract with the private sector to handle their inmates. At the same time, the industry began consolidating, and CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America) and GEO Group dominated the field. The faith community, with a long history of prison chaplaincy, was concerned with what they saw in these facilities. Reports included untrained and limited staff, problems with health care and food, inability to meet families, and an increase in violence. Faith-based organizations such as Wespath and the Presbyterian Church (USA) began to exclude private prisons from their investments.
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