Social Responsibility of Justice: Eight Minutes, 46 Seconds
On June 4th, protesters of the Black Lives Matter movement stood silent for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, that’s how long a police officer kept his knee on George Floyd’s neck. George Floyd pleaded for his life: “I can’t breathe” until he drew his final breaths, calling for his mother.
His murder followed a long series of police brutality incidents that took the lives of countless African Americans. This tragic event has sparked the start of the Black Lives Matter movement back in 2013 following the death of Trayvon Martin. We’re deeply saddened by these horrific and troubling incidents, and continue to watch what history books will write about in the future. Will they name it the moment that made a difference in the lives of the African American community?
His murder followed a long series of police brutality incidents that took the lives of countless African Americans. This tragic event has sparked the start of the Black Lives Matter movement back in 2013 following the death of Trayvon Martin. We’re deeply saddened by these horrific and troubling incidents, and continue to watch what history books will write about in the future. Will they name it the moment that made a difference in the lives of the African American community?
Social Responsibility.
The Black Lives Matter movement does far more than fight against police brutality, it’s about fighting the systematic racism that still puts obstacles in the lives of the African American community till today. One of those obstacles being the racial-wealth gap, an obstacle affected by diversity and inclusion, and a long history of persecution and racial inequality.
But, is diversity and inclusion only a moral choice for businesses to make? In a recent survey by Glassdoor, 67% of job seekers said that diversity is an important factor when considering employment opportunities, and while only 5% of Fortune 1000 companies have a female CEO, they generate 7% of the Fortune 1000’s total revenue and outperform the S&P 500 index during their respective tenures.
We can spend all day citing numbers to prove it, but if you think about it, it’s a much easier process to understand, a more diverse work culture means more access to ideas and perspectives, which births innovation and growth. A more diverse work culture means a healthier and accepting work environment that is a lot more likely to increase retention and attract and maintain the talent that will make you a success. So, no it’s not only the moral choice for businesses to increase D&I, it’s also the smart one.
“It’s now the time, more than ever to open the topic of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It has always been a core part of Envision’s identity, building diversity and inclusion in our team, and extending that culture to all our partners.
While we have always made a commitment to spread that culture, especially in our hiring and team-building services, we know we can always be better. It is our responsibility to ensure inclusion in every aspect of our lives and to normalize working alongside any kind of human being. We are striving to find more solutions to pave a better path and future for the African American community and minorities across our entire organization and network of partners. We have supported our clients in the past to build their female leadership teams for the purpose of Diversity and Inclusion, now is the time to take this to the next level and focus our services to be more inclusive of African American talents and to grow to capture the bigger undervalued talent pool.
The world needs to realize that it’s the social responsibility of all businesses to combat and fight this systematic racism, and we hope it doesn’t take another 8 minutes and 46 seconds for the world to realize that.”
