They Won’t Stop So We Will Stand

At CapEQ, we work with businesses and investors to embed equitable impact into their daily practice. We partner to understand how they make their money, how they spend their money, and how they invest in their people. Next, we provide recommendations on what steps they can take to realize their Social Impact Advantage- how their business can do well BY doing good. Why do companies partner with us? Because it makes good business sense. Customers think businesses should serve all stakeholders, including the broader community, not just shareholders, and are more likely to purchase a product from a company that has a “sustainable” brand.

Based on this, I have been perplexed at the wave of litigation, shareholder proposals, and outrage that are against what is in the best interest of business. CapEQ’s work includes everything from driving innovative business models to creating quality jobs. Time and again, our clients find that diversifying their business across multiple dimensions serves as a cheat code for growth and opportunity. And yet somehow the acronym DEI, which stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion, has been hijacked to mean “unqualified”.

I’m not here to argue about naming conventions or force-feed practices that are not right for your business. But I am here to flag something that should concern all business owners and investors. Let’s take McDonald’s. According to the news media, McDonald's “rolled back” many of their policies that promote diversity, equity and inclusion. Now there is debate that the roll back is filet ‘o fishy, but either way activists against diversity, equity and inclusion touted this as a win. What happened next? McDonald's was sued for its program of offering scholarships to Latino and Hispanic students.

You may not agree with prioritizing diversity at your company. But focusing on diversity is not illegal and is one of many strategies that are critical for businesses, especially for retailers who need to understand and meet the needs of a diverse customer base to achieve their goals. So why are companies under attack for making choices that are within the law that allow them to meet their business goals?

Similarly, you may have differing political beliefs, but since when is it okay for the government to hunt down the private sector for making choices within the law that meet their business goals? If we pull away from the charged rhetoric, it is clear that we are no longer focusing on what’s good for business- we are caught up in a maelstrom of political ideology.

Our country believes in free enterprise, and yet companies making choices that are contrary to the “right” political ideology are being targeted. That is a violation of our rights, and while we’re currently discussing diversity, what comes next? The answer is pretty clear. The attacks are not going to stop. And in fact, some of the attacks will be stronger and swifter than ever.

So if they won’t stop, we will stand.

I’ve written before about how the current discussion around diversity, equity and inclusion can be too conceptual. Conversations around equity tend to anchor in morality and often omit discussion of results. But in 2025, CapEQ is working to move the conversation around equitable impact from “conceptual” to “concrete,” because if we do this, we will better be able to equip leaders with the confidence to continue their work, aligned with business expectations.

At CapEQ, we help companies deploy these good business strategies to do well BY doing good. Recent examples include:

• Path to 15|55’s corporate procurement cohort, which, in partnership with B-Lab, helped break down barriers within the procurement process to support Black-owned businesses and other groups who have challenges accessing corporate supply chains. Many corporations struggle to find appropriate suppliers for their work, and implementing an equitable process can identify new suppliers to meet this need or to find organizations that offer better and more cost-effective services.
• Path also supported an equitable underwriting cohort, which identified ways to unleash usable and accessible capital. Implementing equitable approaches can identify new customers for financial institutions and also help drive capital to places that need it, encouraging economic growth.
• Our recent Civil Rights Audit Standards, developed in partnership with PolicyLink, help to create an ecosystem for corporate civil rights audits. These audits can help companies engage with employees and other stakeholders, strengthening their corporate culture, improving their business model, and building a more resilient supply chain.

Each of these tangible, concrete examples shows how, once we actually get into the nitty gritty of diversity, equity and inclusion, there can be no debate on what makes the most business sense. Taking an equitable approach to business is just business. Limiting anyone from doing so would be to go against good business.

We will stand for our right to make choices that benefit our customers, community and stakeholders. We will stand to share the practices and policies that have enhanced our growth and opportunities. We will stand to continue to collect the data that ensures we learn and grow to build better products and services for tomorrow. Because let’s be clear, this is a business and economic imperative. And we stand by and continue our commitment to building an economy that works for us all.