by Deanna Singh 

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered and the world reeled. During the summer of 2020, Black Lives Matter gathered velocity until it became one of the largest social movements in world history, with citizens around the globe reacting to what they perceived as the final straw in the fight for racial justice.

That summer, many organizations have found themselves at a loss when they realized that businesses were being asked to take a stand on racial equity. Today, many of them are still stymied. Businesses don’t fully appreciate the potential impact they are capable of, and leaders wonder what more they can do beyond taking a simple publicity stance on these issues. Some may be thinking it is the job of politicians and lawmakers to create change. But the truth is that businesses do have a unique power to create and accelerate change, and it’s time companies begin to rise to that challenge.

The Virtual How To Be An Ally Summit was born out of this need.  We saw that organizations and their leaders wanted to participate more fully, but they were unsure of how to make the leap.  The Summit is three days packed with information that helps organizations put actions behind their words.     

DEI vs. Social Justice 

To get in the right frame of mind, business and human resource leaders need to recognize that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work and social justice are two distinct but overlapping concepts. DEI is the work that is done within organizations to create a culture in which equity can exist. It is vitally important toward ensuring that future generations inherit a society and economic landscape that is just. That is a space in which businesses can make a sizable difference.

Until recently, a lot of DEI work was being peddled as a “nice to have” for organizations. Over the last year, we have seen that it is much more important than that and will only grow in importance in the future. With the recent upheaval, many organizations realized that though they were doing DEI activities before, they didn’t have a comprehensive DEI strategy to truly give them momentum. This became glaringly obvious as they scrambled to hold town hall meetings in the wake of George Floyd’s murder. It was a steep learning curve.

Businesses are now coming to grips with the implications of the silence that they have held for too long. Consequently, they have committed to contributing to real change, and it is the work of DEI change leaders to help them meet those goals using advantages that are unique to businesses. 

Use Business Strengths to Create Real Change Now

While it might seem intuitive that political or other social institutions would be better equipped to take on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues than businesses are, businesses have distinct change-making advantages others do not. Here are just five of them:

SPEED. By the end of the first week after George Floyd’s murder, many companies had already accomplished a total revision of their social media strategies. On the eighth day, they joined the 14.6 million Instagram users who supported Blackout Tuesday in droves. By the next week, 49% of companies had addressed the protests, 30% had issued public statements, and 19% had disrupted their schedules to make way for large-scale, open discussions about racial justice. By summer’s end, companies across numerous industries had donated billions of dollars to causes related to racial justice. And crucially, it took only a few months for businesses to increase the number of DEI-related positions within their workforces by 55%. 

These companies wouldn’t be in business if they weren’t able to make decisions at speed—a luxury other social institutions don’t have. Universities, for example, are structured with cumbersome committees and approval processes that make deep change slow. Governments live and breathe checks, balances, and debates. Therefore, it is critical for DEI leaders to convince those in the C-suite that they can implement positive change much faster than anyone else can. 

SIZE. Movements often lack the large numbers of people needed to mobilize and sustain their causes on their own. Businesses have a moral opportunity to use their sheer size to fill that gap. Most businesses have frequent opportunities to unite individuals for a common purpose. While smaller institutions might have more expertise and focus within the DEI space, increasing their numbers takes time. One way to convince business leaders to get involved is to show them that their very size can enable them to meet challenges others can’t. 

UNITY. It’s tempting for business leaders to refer social issues to government as their territory. What DEI leaders need to tell them is that business leaders are poised to create change without waiting. What’s more is that traditional government avenues have been increasingly divisive in recent years and it is heavily encumbered by the laborious fight to find common ground. Companies, on the other hand, have a unified social context that necessitates people from different backgrounds working together towards common goals. That is an overwhelming strength and opportunity.

COURAGE. One way to encourage more business leaders to engage in a DEI strategy is to underscore their capacity to make bold moves. Politicians serving their constituents are bound to the reactivity of public opinion and must measure their moves carefully. Companies can go forth more bravely. Innovators have a long history of setting aside fear to take decisive action. They are less daunted by risk and the threat of negative consequences because they are experts at minimizing risk and maximizing potential. It is what got them where they are. 

RESOURCES. Money and infrastructure can solve problems that stall even the most passionate and determined social organizations. Businesses may not have resources on the scale that governments do, but they have a greater ability to use their resources at their discretion. DEI leaders can advocate for businesses to use their funds and support systems to fuel change. Accomplished business leaders agree that if society has given them success, more should be required from them. DEI can help them answer this higher calling. 

This is a Historic Moment for Businesses 

Increasingly, consumers want to see businesses playing a bigger role in making society more equitable, healthy, and fair. For the most part, companies see that this is the moment to do something different to help; their leaders just need to know how to make the change.  

DEI and other organization leaders urgently need to create a plan to move forward into an era of real change. As they form their strategies, they should keep in mind that they have strengths to leverage which other institutions will never have. Only, however, if they decide to use them.

For more information on how to begin this work, I hope you’ll consider joining me at the upcoming How To Be An Ally Virtual Summit this October 4-6. 

Deanna Singh, Founder/Chief Change Agent of the social-impact holding company, Flying Elephant, is known for giving audiences the tools and courage to imagine, activate, and impact the world. She is a trailblazer and dynamic speaker who is at the forefront of social change. She is an accomplished author, educator, business leader, and champion for marginalized communities. Singh earned a degree in Urban Studies from Fordham University, a Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University, and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Actions Speak Louder, which will be published by Penguin Random House in May 2022.