Civil Rights Audits: A Stop on the Underground Railroad
I started this year talking about a modern “Underground Railroad’’ that keeps our movement for racial equity in business alive in response to the coordinated attacks against us. This Underground Railroad is made up of people across industries and sectors who are working towards a better and more inclusive economy for all. We all play our part — some of us are outside, shouting from the rooftops; some of us are quietly toiling and pushing where it’s needed within companies and organizations; some of us are working behind the scenes to make connections and maintain momentum.
I’ve already shared one station on this underground railroad — the intersection of sound legal and business practices — and today I am going to share another: Civil rights audits.
Businesses have increasingly become interested in assessing their own internal processes for equity, and more specifically, civil rights. This interest accelerated in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, as more and more companies wrestled with ways to fully live their values as diverse and inclusive places for employees and customers.
However, many of these companies conducted these audits in silos, without expectations for what a quality audit should be. There were no clear standards and practices. Until now.
Last month, we released the Civil Rights Audit Standards. With these Standards, corporations now have a robust tool to meaningfully examine bias and discrimination risks across all aspects of the business. These Standards were developed by an independent committee, alongside CapEQ and our longtime partner, PolicyLink.
The committee that developed these standards included civil rights experts, investors, worker advocates, and business executives. Grounded in principles of non-discrimination, the Standards set a benchmark for consistency and credibility in audits that help eradicate discrimination and ensure equal opportunity for all people.
Effective civil rights audits need to set a high bar to deliver comprehensive and meaningful recommendations. For them to be a tool that companies actually use, the audits also need to balance progress over perfection.
The Standards help businesses navigate all those questions. They include criteria for businesses to follow across all key aspects of a civil rights audit, including:
- Comprehensive Scope;
- Independent, Qualified Auditor;
- Meaningful Engagement with Key Stakeholders;
- Access to Critical Information;
- Rigor and Objectivity;
- Transparency;
- Timeliness;
- Regular Frequency; and
- Board Oversight and Accountability.
Many companies are not sure how to proceed with the equity and inclusion efforts, and some companies fear being attacked for doing so. These Standards offer companies a way to feel confident that their audits will help them meet business goals while signaling their values to customers and other key stakeholders.
I see these Standards as an important stop on the modern Underground Railroad for precisely this reason: They help companies do well BY doing good. ESG and DEI considerations are still critical business decisions for companies. Customers and employees want to see companies are aligned with their values, and if they aren’t, or seem inauthentic in their commitment, the bottom line can suffer.
If you are a company looking to level up the integration of justice and sustainability into your practices, check out the standards. We also hosted a webinar discussing the standards, which you can view here.
