Social Issues and the Private Sector

It’s hard to argue with the idea that we are living in a time of immense social upheaval. Thanks to social media and the 24-hour news cycle, we are inundated with divisive issues whenever we turn a dial or turn on a screen. The constant barrage of news is of course, a double-edged sword. It keeps us informed, but it is undeniably stressful. This has been more pronounced than ever over the past several years, so much so that more and more privately owned companies are beginning to take a stand.

Wharton’s own Stephanie Creary, who studies organizational behavior, has a new podcast episode and article about why companies are taking a stand on social issues. While historically companies have used financial contributions to make their social views known (which often involved donations on both sides of the aisle), the divisive nature of the last 15 years has pushed leadership into new action. As much as leadership may have wanted to stay above the political fray, times have changed.

In today’s corporate world, there are now positions held with titles such as the ‘director of employee activism’, or ‘DEI executive director’. “Their job is to keep talking about it,” Creary said of chief diversity officers and others in similar roles. This new reality is just the beginning in a two-steps-forward, one-step-back state of change. Check out the article and her interview for a fascinating read on our shifting private sector.

Earth Day Turns 50

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. As many of us remember, 1970s America was a place where industrial plants spewed smoke and sludge into the air with virtually no regulation, heavy and inefficient cars burned through leaded gasoline, and air pollution was commonly accepted as unavoidable. Then came the birth of the modern environmental movement. Thanks in large part to the publication of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, grassroots movements united with students and the support of a few concerned politicians, and the first Earth Day was born. Earth Day 1970 brought 20 million Americans (at the time, 10% of the total population) into the streets and parks to demonstrate agains 150 years of unregulated pollution and greed.

One pioneer who has been at the forefront of the environmental movement around the world is Jane Goodall. Although she is most well known for her work with primates, Goodall is also an avid environmental and animal rights activist. Now she has a new documentary, appropriately premiering today, in which she discusses everything from animal empathy to COVID-19. It is available to stream on Disney+, or catch it live on the National Geographic channel. Give it a watch, and give thanks for one sweet world.