What “Standing with” the Black Community Requires of Businesses

 In the wake of the protests in response to the killing of George Floyd by a police officer, businesses are facing mounting pressure to weigh in on the matter. Indeed, a wave of companies have already rushed to the scene to “stand with” the black community in a fight for racial justice. 

The burning question, though, is, ‘what should companies do to demonstrate their commitment to racial justice?” Common suggestions from a range of outlets include guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, anti-racist training for all employees, improved healthcare and parental leave benefits, and donating money to causes that support the black community, the latter of which some companies have already pledged to do.[1] These suggestions are reasonable, but they miss the larger picture. Corporations, like the countries in which they’re embedded, have a long history of racial discrimination. Any plausible and genuine commitment to fighting racial justice cannot ignore that fact, and no amount of updates to HR policies will rectify the past let alone aid the company in realizing all of the opportunities for inclusivity and innovation they have so far squandered. Indeed, these tactics, absent a longer-term strategy for organizational change, will almost certainly fail.

Taking the issue seriously is not just a moral imperative. It is also a business imperative. Younger generations are significantly more diverse than previous generations. They are looking for companies and senior leaders to play a significant role in the advancement of issues of social justice. Companies that don’t take it seriously now will have to answer for their sins of omission when - note, “when” not “if” - the killing of a black person by a police officer is once again filmed and sparks outrage. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can attest to that fact. He recently found himself apologizing for not listening Colin Kaepernick’s protest and those of the players he inspired to follow suit.[2]

There are three approaches companies need to take if they are to genuinely stand with Black Lives Matter or any other anti-racism movement. First, they will need to ensure that diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts run throughout the organization and are not siloed in Human Resources. Second, they will need to articulate and execute on short and long-term strategies relating to D&I and racial justice. And third, they will need to earn their employees’ buy-in if any strategies are to take root. Here’s how to make progress on each of these fronts.

Don’t Silo D&I in Human Resources

D&I needs to be woven into every department, not just Human Resources, both because it’s what required of a successful D&I program and because it’s necessary to guard against (justified and unjustified) charges of discrimination. Witness, for instance, Gucci’s black face sweaters,[3] Pepsi's Black Lives Matter protest ad,[4] and Burberry’s hoodie,[5] complete with noose drawstring. Consider also the ways brands have discriminated against black people in the providing of products and services. JPMorgan is facing a string of allegations from incidents reported as recently as December 2019,[6] and who could forget #BoycottStarbucks in the wake of two black guests being arrested for not leaving when they were asked to by the manager?[7] Those incidents pertain not only to HR, but also, at the very least, to design, marketing, and decision-making procedures for whether and how to provide a service or product to a consumer. Indeed, in light of companies facing investigations by regulators for developing and deploying gender and race discriminating artificial intelligence products, even a company’s data scientists need to get involved in a company’s D&I efforts.[8]

Companies that want to avoid siloing their D&I efforts to the HR department and thereby decrease the probability of an incident that invites charges of racial discrimination will need to do at least the following.

1. Identify joints in important decision-making points in every department and place a diversity and inclusion due diligence process there. For instance, during the design process, whether it is a piece of clothing, a process for granting or denying a loan, or a television ad, task at least one person in that process to vet the (potential) product for features that could be reasonably interpreted as racially problematic. Ideally, this is in addition to having a diverse set of people involved in the process to begin with. That is not sufficient, however, as people also need to be enabled to speak up by way of an official due diligence process that formally authorizes particular people/roles to raise concerns.
2. Educate employees in a meaningful way. A standard approach to D&I has been for companies to prescribe implicit bias training to its employees. But research has demonstrated that not only does implicit bias training not work, it can also backfire, entrenching people in their biases.[9] In truth, it is virtually impossible for a company to change the hearts and minds of the vast majority of employees. Leaders should focus instead on clear policies regarding racism and ensure that discriminatory behavior is not tolerated. That means imposing and enforcing real penalties, including firing, employees who behave in a discriminatory manner, providing an anonymous hotline where discriminatory behavior can be reported, and tracking the hiring and promotion patterns with regard to the diversity of those traveling through the pipeline leading to the C-Suite.
3. Identify places where bias can exist and create ways to mitigate it. By now companies should at least be anonymizing resumes, as research shows that otherwise identical resumes can get treated differently when the name on one indicates the resume is likely that of a black person’s while the other does not.[10] A company should also require its data scientists to vet artificial intelligence (or machine learning) software for bias, whether it’s developed in-house or procured from a third party. One way to do that is to marry that process with the processes in place for vetting cybersecurity risks.

 D&I and Racial Justice Require Strategy, Not (Only) Tactics

The next issue pertains to taking a strategic, not merely tactical, approach to standing with the black community. This speaks to the first problem as well. When consumers and employees demand action they are not demanding that a department within the company take action. They regard a company, rightly, as a whole composed of parts where the whole has a distinct mission and a set of goals. Protestors are looking for companies not only to work on their own inner characters, but also to have a positive social impact by joining the fight for racial justice. Indeed, this is part and parcel of what it is to “stand with” the Black Lives Matter movement. As with all business goals, this can only be achieved if D&I efforts and racial justice goals are incorporated into overall strategy. That means setting concrete goals, articulating a roadmap, identifying resources to achieve those goals, establishing KPIs, building financial incentives around meeting those goals, and so on. Companies that have made progress in creating, articulating, and pursuing a racial justice strategy will truly and proudly proclaim their ongoing meaningful support for the black community. Here are three steps to take towards ensuring that racial justice efforts are strategic and not (only) tactical.

1. Be specific about what set of solutions for combating racism the company is actively behind. There are a lot of options here and no single company can pursue all of them simultaneously and equally effectively. Options include combating violent policing, working to fix underfunded educational programs in the black and people of color neighborhoods, removing obstacles to voting in elections, and taking part in mentorship programs to help the underprivileged with advice and valuable networking opportunities. A company can also be transparent about what percentage of people of color have occupied the higher echelons of their organization, what they want those numbers to be, and their plans for making that happen. This change in mindset - from focusing not (only) on the injustices committed against the black community but also how that has negatively affected the business as well - can play a crucial role in motivating people to buy-in to systemic change within the organization.
2. Ask your employees what they care about. In creating racial justice goals and strategies make sure the process by which you set those goals is itself inclusive of a diverse array of employees. Hold town halls in which they are discussed, enable online discussion and voting, and figure out how executing on those strategies can involve everyone who wants to be involved.
3. Whatever those goals are, ensure that you financially incentivize people to achieve those goals or at least ensure not to financially disincentive their pursuit. At the end of the day, employees need to make a living and their behaviors will necessarily be shaped by what they are financially incentivized to do. Build assessments around the discharging of responsibilities related to the company’s D&I and racial justice goals into regular reviews that bear on issues of raises, bonuses, and promotions. (Of course, they are not the only one, and you should not require every employee to excel in this area in order to receive financial rewards).

Earning Organizational Buy-In

The third and final piece to this foundational approach is arguably the most foundational. Success here is necessary if there is to be any possibility for success in populating various departments with D&I efforts let alone creating and executing on a company-wide racial justice strategy. The company must first get people on board with these efforts. As they say, culture eats strategy for breakfast. To avoid tripping on the blocks out of the gate, companies need to do these three things. 

1. Articulate a clear rationale for the effort. If it is just a response to public pressure, your employees, particularly those who are either not interested in, or outright oppose, the Black Lives Matter movement, will unintentionally or intentionally undermine your D&I and racial justice efforts. Is the motivation a concern for social justice? Is it out of respect for those who believe it is morally imperative? Is it to fuel innovation or to open new markets?[11] Companies should reflect on the ways a racist past has hurt their companies by, for instance, closing themselves off to talent and untapped markets.
2. Settle on how the company will think and talk about these issues. Some protestors use especially charged language and concepts, for instance, “white privilege,” “white supremacy,” and “silence equals violence.” Getting clear on the concepts and language the company uses to discuss these issues will help to communicate to internal and external stakeholders why the company is committed to D&I and racial justice efforts and it will help shape the strategies that get created and executed on.
3. Address the fear that stymies clear thought. It is not spoken out loud most of the time but one of the largest obstacles to people thinking clearly about these issues is the fear, justifiable or not, that a commitment to taking D&I and racial justice issues seriously will undermine a commitment to hiring and promoting the most qualified people. Senior leaders are worried they will undo their bottom line. Employees are worried they will be passed over for a promotion for which they’re qualified due to “political correctness.” If you can’t get rid of these fears then a significant percent of employees won’t even hear the company’s explanation for taking the issues seriously. Companies must make it clear that not only would they not hire or promote the unqualified but also that the Black Lives Matter movement has never asked for unqualified people to get what they do not deserve. They are asking, instead, that black people and people of color generally have equal access to the goods of society and that they are not literally and metaphorically trampled on in their pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.

The question before us is, ‘what should companies do to demonstrate their commitment to racial justice?” In the end, this question gets something wrong. It is not simply a matter of performing this or that act or implementing this or that policy. It is about building an organization that perpetually fights to change itself and society at large towards the goal of racial justice and equity.

#BLM #ethics #ethicsconsulting #diversity #inclusion #businessvalues #values

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhessekiel/2020/06/04/companies-taking-a-public-stand-in-the-wake-of-george-floyds-death/#7e35e9a72148

[2] https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/05/sports/nfl-commissioner-roger-goodell-apologizes-not-listening-players-earlier-racism/

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/07/haute-couture-blackface-gucci-apologizes-pulls-racist-sweater/

[4] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/business/kendall-jenner-pepsi-ad.html

[5] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/02/20/burberry-sweatshirt-featuring-noose-drawstrings-condemned-evoking-suicide-lynching/

[6] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/11/business/jpmorgan-banking-racism.html

[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/us/starbucks-philadelphia-black-men-arrest.html

[8] https://www.wsj.com/articles/researchers-find-racial-bias-in-hospital-algorithm-11571941096

[9] https://qz.com/1144504/the-world-is-relying-on-a-flawed-psychological-test-to-fight-racism/

[10] https://qz.com/1144504/the-world-is-relying-on-a-flawed-psychological-test-to-fight-racism/

[11] https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-business-case-for-more-diversity-11572091200