Women and Corporate Social Responsibility: Move Beyond the Superficial
RESEARCH – Women are good for business and particularly executive-level women: A study from global accounting firm Grant Thornton found that companies with at least one female executive board member performed better than those with male-only boards. Women play a major role in enabling better decision making at companies, creating sustainable organizations and increasing annual company philanthropic contributions.
Women and corporate social responsibility (CSR) go hand-in-hand. CSR is a solid long-term strategic practice that many of the world’s most successful companies have embraced. Companies with a strong commitment to CSR have been shown to have more satisfied customers which can lead to brand loyalty. While numerous organizations have shown a directional shift toward supplementing CSR practices, applying meaningful change takes effort and it can be easy for businesses to take a superficial approach and face being labelled as greenwashing or ‘ethics-washing.’
Why women are crucial to CSR
Devin D. Thorpe, New Media Journalist and “champion of social good”, sees women as the real change makers in corporate America. He points to the example of Nancy Mahon who is the Senior Vice President, Global Philanthropy and Corporate Citizenship for Estée Lauder.
Estée Lauder owns a variety of brands, including MAC cosmetics, and have raised over half a billion dollars for the MAC AIDS fund. Thorpe states that their annual rate of funding is now approximately $50 millions dollars, which make both Estée Lauderand Nancy Mahon real drivers of change in the global fight against AIDS. Their success is echoed through the collaboration of major celebrities, such as Lady Gaga and Rihanna, who act as spokesperson virtually for free. Estée Lauder, MAC Cosmetics and their distributors have made a real commitment to making a difference and this is what separates genuine CSR programs from ones that are seen as greenwashing or ethics washing.
How women can drive meaningful CSR
Eighty-six percent of American females stated that they would not work for a firm with a poor CSR reputation. While this has great implications on firms without a CSR vision, women should be encouraged to help drive change from within. Many CSR policies fail because they are not connected in a holistic fashion, and communication barriers arise. Women, who are typically good communicators and capable of empathy, can aid in the quest to create a CSR vision that is at the core of a business’s goals and strategies.
The task of creating a meaningful CSR program is demanding yet essential. It is imperative that both company executives and HR personnel are committed to CSR so that tangible action can be taken. It is not enough to simply claim that CSR is “connected to the core” of their business strategy, the company must be able to show this through physical means, which could include the appointment of a Chief Diversity Officer, support of charities that match their CSR values and etcetera.
