Amid the death of George Floyd, ensuing protests around the U.S. and a renewed call for the end of police brutality, companies from all industries are speaking out on issues of racial and social injustice.
Large tech companies like Apple and Twitter have spoken up, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and calling for social justice. Closer to home in Chicago, tech and startup organizations like 1871, Farmer’s Fridge and Chicago Ventures, have also publicly declared their dedication to social and racial justice.
Part of doing so allows the public to know where powerful companies stand on issues around systemic racism, but more importantly, it often helps foster a safe and inclusive work environment for their black and brown employees.
“Even if you feel really uncomfortable talking about this—probably as a white leader of your company—you have to address it,” said Alida Miranda-Wolff, the founder and CEO of Chicago-based diversity, equity and inclusion firm Ethos. “You have to condemn what’s taking place. You have to show your disgust. You have to individually check in with your black employees.”
Ethos, founded in 2018, aims to help companies implement policies around diversity, equity and inclusion. The startup currently serves about 50 companies, ranging from Fortune 500s to startups, such as Chicago-based SpotHero and 4C Insights.
Originally, the startup focused on helping companies recruit and retain diverse talent but recently added services that address the current social justice crisis around the death of Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes while holding him in custody.
In a moment like this, Miranda-Wolff said Ethos’ mission is to help companies respond meaningfully to social and racial justice issues, so they can be "upstanders," rather than bystanders. Ethos is providing companies with information on where and how to responsibly protest, as well as pointing them to social justice organizations that take donations.
“In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and this ongoing violence against black communities, we’ve really shifted to facilitating conversations in our companies and in our communities around what’s taking place,” Miranda-Wolff said.
The idea is to help companies create safe workplaces for black employees, as well as show non-black employees how they can be meaningful allies. Ethos recommends companies allow black employees to take time off to prioritize their mental wellbeing during what is a very stressful and challenging time.
Ethos is also training companies on what appropriate external messaging looks like.
“I can’t tell you how many Pride announcements went out yesterday that were really tone deaf and focused on celebrating Pride during a time that so many people do not want to celebrate,” Miranda-Wolff said.
Keeping companies prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion is particularly difficult right now because of how the economy has suffered amid the Covid-19 crisis. Currently, more than 40 million people have applied for unemployment benefits. When budgets are tightened, diversity initiatives are often some of the first programs to get cut.
When the coronavirus pandemic began spreading in the U.S. and the economy started to take a turn, Ethos saw a number of its clients terminate contracts. Ethos lost 10 percent of its revenue in a single day. Overall, the startup saw a 55 percent shortfall in Q2, but has since recovered, Miranda-Wolff said.
Though many companies have released messages addressing Floyd’s death and institutional racism, others have been silent. And Ethos has heard from black workers who’ve complained that their company hasn’t addressed Floyd’s death at all, have not been checked in on by fellow employees, and that work has largely gone business as usual.
“One particular person reached out to say that when they were expressing anger and frustration, they were told to be grateful that they have a job because we’re almost at 40 million unemployed,” Miranda-Wolff said.
Ethos often hears from companies, even in the last few days, that they don’t want to speak out about an issue like the death of Floyd because they are worried of appearing partisan or too political.
“I see that as a form of resistance,” Miranda-Wolff said. “What we’re talking about is a human issue. If anything should be de-politicized right now, it’s the advocacy for people’s lives. This is not an election we’re talking about. This is a group of people being systemically abused, killed and disregarded in silence.”
