In a 1970 Times magazine article, economist Milton Friedman stated that corporations exist solely to serve their shareholders and must maximize shareholder financial returns to the exclusion of all else.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it best when he was asked, upon announcing his half-women, half-men cabinet, why that was important to him. He simply responded, “Because it’s 2015.” Oh, Canada, I wish everyone felt that way.
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Anyone with a workplace retirement account may be profiting from the sales of guns and ammunition. Vanguard, iShares from Blackrock, Fidelity, and State Street are all heavily invested in gun makers. Walmart employees are protesting the company’s selling of firearms.
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Denny’s joins a growing group of major fast food and fast casual chains (McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, Chipotle, and others) that have established policies prohibiting the use of medically important antibiotics in chicken.
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It was the hook that drew me into the arena of impact investing. I first heard about the concept of gender-lens investing from the innovative people at Criterion Institute 10 years ago.
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There’s a common myth that says moving your money away from increasingly risky fossil fuel investments means having to sacrifice returns. But it’s not true. A growing body of evidence indicates that investing in funds with fewer fossil fuel holdings does not mean making less money.
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The U.S. Women’s World Cup win has put the need for fair pay policies back into discussion. Of course, the usual arguments against this concept are also in play, with the idea that pay differentials are tied to differing commercial values between men’s and women’s sports and that there are different pay structures for performing different work.
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You don’t have to look far to wonder if we still have a long way to go to ensure gender equality in the workplace. As one report says, “Progress isn’t just slow. It’s stalled.” So, what will it take to finally have rights, responsibilities and opportunities unaffected by gender?
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Numerous studies show women are paid less than their male counterparts. This is a key challenge for companies as they face reputational risk, consumer backlash, new legislation and governmental and employee lawsuits. Just the perception of a gender pay gap can make it hard to recruit or keep top talent.
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We've made some updates to our gender equality fund rankings, and added new options to our settings.
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Fast Company‘s third annual World Changing Ideas Awards drew nearly 2,000 submissions across 17 categories. Fast Company editors and reporters created lists of honorable mentions and finalists, and then our panel of judges picked winners in each category. You can read more about the winners here.
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“Data can be sexist.” That was one of Bill and Melinda Gates’ biggest surprises of last year, described in their 2019 Annual Letter.
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Gender equality is a fundamental issue of justice. In the U.S., full-time female workers earn $10,000 less than men: that’s simply not fair. At the same time, the business case for gender balance is now impossible to ignore. RobecoSam’s 2017 gender equality report finds that, consistent with the growing body of academic research, “gender diversity and equality contribute to better corporate performance and investment returns.”
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Let’s face it. Women make the world go around, literally. Yet despite juggling all of life’s crazy demands—birthing and raising children, providing financial stability and preparing healthy, home-cooked meals while also trying to find time for exercise, time with friends and the occasional moment of relaxation—women are still treated as “less than” in the workforce. Here are five major challenges still facing women in the workplace.
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BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has declared that is is embracing sustainable investing. But, despite its stated intentions, BlackRock still has billions invested in companies with business models that are not in alignment with the Paris climate agreement to keep global warming well below 2˚ C.
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As we move into the New Year, we are taking a moment to reflect on the progress and challenges of 2018 in our corporate engagements to end the overuse of antibiotics in animal farming.
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My home in Hyattsville, Maryland — where I have my office — is occasionally referred to as As You Sow’s DC office. My proximity to the city affords easy ability to attend Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) meetings in person, such as the staff roundtable on the proxy process on Nov. 15.
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As You Sow is pleased to be a signatory to a Global Commitment to eradicate plastic waste and pollution signed by 250 organizations including many of the world’s largest packaging producers, brands, and retailers. However, it wasn’t an easy decision, with strong commitments offset by key unanswered questions.
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Americans throw away an estimated 100 billion plastic bags a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says the average bag takes up to 1,000 years to break down. Even then, the plastic remains in the environment and food chain. Plastic litter entering the marine environment has swelled to an estimated 8 million tons per year and as the world’s largest generator of waste, the U.S. contributes to that long-lasting pollution.
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