Issue No. 4 | April 10, 2025

Navigating a Shifting Landscape with Courage and Conviction

We are in unprecedented times as all sectors of our society grapple with the weakening of our democratic norms, dismantling of our governing institutions, and increasing instability in our economy. For businesses navigating the current political and economic landscape, our guidance remains the same: it is more important than ever to invest in human-centered business practices.

The overwhelming majority of the American public continues to support and expect businesses to implement fair hiring and advancement practices, foster respectful workplaces for all, offer inclusive and accessible products, and care for our planet so all communities can thrive. Doing so is also smart business and consistent with investor expectations.

While the next several years will undoubtedly bring more challenges, this is not the time to scale back socially responsible practices. Rather, it is the time to lead with courage and conviction. Businesses who do will emerge with a distinct competitive advantage for years to come – stronger, more innovative, and better aligned with a rapidly diversifying world.

Of course, we recognize the intense pressures and difficult choices business leaders are facing today. That is why we are curating essential guidance and resources to help leaders navigate the current landscape in our Just and Fair Business Resource Hub. Updated every month, this resource will support leaders in staying abreast of the latest developments and continuing to make meaningful progress.

Read on for more updates and ways to continue advancing this work, including tools to get started on implementing a living wage across your workforce. In upcoming newsletters, we will share more guidance informed by our draft standards on topics such as quality jobs, inclusive workplace cultures, and accessible products.

Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the evolving landscape, resources for implementing impactful business practices, and news about our standards effort, including how to get involved.

Finger on the Pulse

The latest news, tools, and resources to support your efforts. For more, check out our Just and Fair Business Resource Hub.

• While the new Administration is attacking law firms, including for having diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, over 500 law firms across the nation have filed a ‘friend of the court’ (amicus) brief in support of Perkins Coie, the first firm targeted with an executive order. See also this law firm’s statement laying out what is at stake. 
   
• While the EEOC is conducting a probe of 20 top law firms’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, refer to this letter from a group of former EEOC Chairs, Commissioners, and General Counsels explaining how the probe has no legal basis.
   
• The EEOC and DOJ have also issued two technical assistance documents (which are informal guidance) for employers, signaling their stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. To help understand the import of these documents, read this guidance from former EEOC officials separating fact from fiction.
   
• Use the Meltzer Center’s Advancing DEI Initiative case tracker to stay abreast of the latest developments in litigation (anti- and pro-DEI cases). Also check out Just Security’s litigation tracker for an overview of all legal challenges to the Administration’s actions.
   
• New research shows over 80% of the general public — across the political spectrum — supports diversity, equity, and inclusion while also broadly underestimating its popularity. The punchline: it is important to speak up. To dispel the misconception that this work is unpopular, find strategic opportunities to communicate your organization's efforts to create a fairer workplace and advance equal opportunities for all.
   
• Need help with messaging? Here are messaging guides from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and Hart, Bellwether, and Raben. Each offers research-informed guidance to effectively adapt communications on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 
   
• Need more help making the case? Check out this article laying out the true meaning and value of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the actions you can take to safeguard your efforts. 
   
• What other actions should you take right now? See this Stanford Social Innovation Review article for four strategic steps businesses can take to increase organizational resilience and emerge stronger.
   

Listen to this ‘Sundays with Vernā’ Podcast episode for a conversation with Mahlet Getachew, Managing Director of Corporate Racial Equity at PolicyLink, about our standards effort and the importance of redefining leadership in corporate America.

 

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Doing the Work

Tools and guidance for implementing best practices that achieve meaningful outcomes. 

While the acronym may be a lightning rod, the actual strategies behind diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts have broad appeal. For example, fair, living wages continue to be the #1 issue surfaced by the public as a key expectation of business. The following resources can be used to take action on paying living wages now. You can access more guidance in our draft Job Quality standard, part of our Business Standards for 21st Century Leadership. 

• Fair Wage Network’s Eight Case Studies from Large Companies Advancing a Living Wage offer insights into the unique journeys and learnings of a diverse set of companies as they navigate assessing and implementing living wage strategies across globally distributed labor forces and complex supply chains. 
   
• Use the MIT Living Wage Calculator and the IDH Benchmark Finder to find credible living wage benchmarks for communities where you operate. 
   
• Refer to the UN Global Compact’s Moving Living Wage Forward Faster: Action Guide for guidance on meeting the target of living wage for all employees and advancing living wages in your supply chain. 
   
• Explore the IDH Living Wage Action Guide to consider how supply chain actors can collaborate to close living wage gaps. 
   
• Understand the nuance between living wage and “adequate wage” which has emerged as a new term across several EU legislations and the first of its kind ILO guidance on living wage.

One Fair Wage fights for fair wages on behalf of the more than 13.6 million restaurant workers nationwide. Check out their resources for workers, employers, and consumers to get involved.

Keep in Touch and Stay Up to Date

Learn more about the Corporate Racial Equity Alliance founding partners: FSG, JUST Capital, and PolicyLink.