{"id":25953,"date":"2024-02-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.labrador-transparency.com\/?p=25953"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:34:55","slug":"trends-in-racial-and-social-justice-disclosures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.labrador-transparency.com\/en\/blog\/trends-in-racial-and-social-justice-disclosures\/","title":{"rendered":"Trends in Racial and Social Justice Disclosures"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Are companies that made bold supporting statements for racial justice in 2020 after George Floyd’s death following up such statements with action? Are companies speaking out against anti-LGBTQIA+ and <\/span>anti-reproductive rights laws in states in which they are headquartered?<\/span>1 <\/span>Are companies helping their employees access inclusive healthcare practices even in states where abortion or transgender care are being banned?<\/span><\/p>

Customers, employees, and other corporate stakeholders are all asking these questions.<\/span><\/p>

Lily Zheng describes what she sees as a transition from corporate social responsibility (CSR) to corporate social justice this way:<\/span>\u00b2<\/span><\/p>

Now, consumers and employees are raising the bar. The killing of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis has driven one of the largest protest movements in recent memory, and the widespread reactions to the standard CSR playbook suggest that old best practices may no longer work\u2026. Corporate Social Justice is a reframing of CSR that centers the focus on any initiative or program on the measurable, lived experiences of groups harmed and disadvantaged by society\u2026 [It] is a framework regulated by the trust between a company and its employees, customers, shareholders, and the broader community it touches, with the goal of explicitly doing good by all of them. Where CSR is often realized through a secondary or even vanity program tacked onto a company\u2019s main business, Corporate Social Justice requires deep integration with every aspect of the way a company functions\u2026 Consumers and other stakeholders want companies to see social good as a necessity, not just a marketing strategy. It\u2019s up to companies to respond to this new challenge.<\/span><\/i><\/p>

More recently, anti-DEI activity has also intensified. After the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s June 2023 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, which held that colleges and universities cannot consider race in and of itself as a factor in admission decisions, there <\/span>has been a flood of activity looking to extend aspects of the ruling to the private sector. For example, 13 Republican state attorneys general sent a letter to the CEOs of the 100 largest U.S. companies cautioning them on the legal consequences of using race as a factor in hiring and employment practices.\u00b3<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It is unclear how this recent backlash by certain special interest groups will impact corporate reporting <\/span>going forward. Early indications show an ongoing commitment to DEI despite the challenges.<\/span>\u2074<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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1\u00a0 <\/span>Barak Harif, Tal and Marques, Felipe. (April 27, 2023). <\/span>\u201cDisney Versus DeSantis: A Timeline of the Florida Feud.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Time Magazine<\/span><\/i>.
<\/span>2\u00a0 <\/span>Zheng, Lily. (June 16, 2020). <\/span>\u201cWe\u2019re Entering the Age of Corporate Social Justice.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/i>.
<\/span>3\u00a0 <\/span>Grantham-Philips, Wyatte, Mulvihill, Geoff, and The Associated Press. (July 15, 2023). <\/span>\u201cFortune 100 companies are getting swarmed by Republican AGs <\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>using the Supreme Court affirmative action as a lever into the workplace.\u201d<\/span><\/a> Fortune.com<\/span><\/i>.
<\/span>4 \u00a0 <\/span>https:\/\/corpgov.law.harvard.edu\/2024\/02\/26\/dei-in-an-era-of-unrest-a-few-truths-and-a-path-forward\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Current U.S. Practices in Racial and Social Justice Disclosures<\/span><\/h2>

In direct response to bold statements of support many U.S. companies made after George Floyd\u2019s death, the non-profit shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow<\/span>\u00ae <\/span>launched its <\/span>Racial Justice Initiative and<\/span><\/a> Scorecards<\/span><\/a>. The initiative strives to \u201cmonitor corporate responses and follow up with companies to ensure that statements of support for racial justice are translated into concrete actions that truly promote equity, thereby helping them on the path to end corporate complicity in systemic racism.\u201d While their annual scorecard demonstrates that U.S. companies have a lot of room for improvement, As You Sow<\/span>\u00ae <\/span>has recognized PayPal, illumina<\/span>\u00ae<\/span>, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Altria, American Electric Power, Activision Blizzard, eBay, UnitedHealth Group, and BNY Mellon for their related policies, practices, and communications.<\/span><\/p>

Over the last several years, many companies have developed DEI programs that include some of the elements below. Several were driven by shareholder proposals and broader stakeholder engagement.<\/span><\/p>