Business is Essential to Advancing Racial Equity
If you’ve been following BE MORE with Anu for a while, you know that I’m passionate about a lot of things. I’m a scientist who loves learning; an educator who loves teaching; a lawyer who loves equity. I’ve spent my life pursuing different pathways that could help me bring about equity and justice to more corners of our world. I felt a particular calling to this work while pursuing my legal education, which brought me face to face with the dehumanization, greed, and cruelty of our public and private institutions. Over time, I discovered solutions to these deeply rooted challenges in contemplative practices and sciences. I knew there was a way to use these tools to better society, and that I could be part of that change.
I knew there was a way to use these tools to better society, and that I could be part of that change.
This personal journey of transformation led me to founding BE MORE. I went from feeling like a self-doubting, fearful victim of the “system” to a self-assured, empowered educator and advocate who is clear about his vision and contribution. I believe wholeheartedly that people can use their roles, positions, and power to advance equity and belonging. More specifically, I believe businesses and companies of all sizes have an instrumental role to play in advancing this vision of equity and belonging. In fact, it is the responsibility of business leaders to do just that.
This realization came to me while studying Law of Non-Profit Organizations with one of my favorite professors, Jill Manny. Jill helped me see through the nostalgic and idealistic notions that non-profits represent to see what non-profits actually are: legal structures that are tax-exempt. While non-profits have been instrumental in alleviating the ills in our society, the increasing inequality and capitalist nature of our politics, economy, and social spheres demand that the levers of capital exchange — businesses — lead the movement to advance racial equity and belonging.
I believe businesses and companies of all sizes have an instrumental role to play in advancing this vision of equity and belonging.
This is why I recently became a signatory of CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion, a collective of CEOs dedicated to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in their workplaces. More than 2,000 CEOs have signed onto this commitment to “take action to cultivate environments where diverse experiences and perspectives are welcomed and where employees feel comfortable and encouraged to discuss diversity and inclusion.”
I believe that communities like this one are key to advancing equity and belonging in our workplaces, which will ultimately trickle into our families, communities, and politics. With that said, while this is a good start, we (and all of you!) need to hold these leaders and these companies accountable to their commitments. While there is so much passion and deep concern behind this initiative, we need to ensure that this doesn’t solely become a marketing opportunity to say the right things, but fail to back up the words with the necessary actions.
Some of my most influential mentors in working toward equity have been fellow business leaders who have used innovative practices to further equity and diversity at their organizations. Studies have long shown that diversity is good for business, but more than that, it’s good for the world.
Studies have long shown that diversity is good for business, but more than that, it’s good for the world.
Now that I too am a signatory of CEO Action, I hope the signatory CEOs will take concerted steps — as they have committed — to incorporating unconscious bias education in their companies, cultivating workplaces that support open dialogue on these issues, bringing equity plans to their governing bodies, and sharing best practices around diversity and inclusion.
I encourage you to check out the listed companies of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion. More importantly, I encourage you to use your power as a consumer to write to businesses whose services and products you use to infuse equity education within their workplace culture so they can be an instrument to advancing racial equity and belonging in our society. Only when we demand more of our business leaders will this become the norm.