Resources to Help Businesses Address the Racial Wealth Gap

Meaningful Business Action and Examples to Build a More Equitable Economy

With racial equity as one of three pillars in its Theory of Change, B Lab U.S. & Canada and Certified B Corporations commit to shaping a more inclusive economy that works for all people. It’s a commitment that means dismantling systemic barriers for People of Color by using business as a force for good. 

Addressing the racial wealth gap and the multitude of factors driving it will take deliberate, meaningful action. While far-reaching policy solutions are needed, businesses and other organizations can and should play a role in making a difference. Because racial inequities pervade banking, financing, hiring, board rooms, and communities, bringing change will take action at all of these levels. 

To help B Corps and other businesses advance racial equity in their everyday operations, B Lab U.S. & Canada created a new downloadable guide, Resources to Help Businesses Address the Racial Wealth Gap: Meaningful Action and Examples to Build Racial Equity. It includes explanations of systemic inequities that contribute to the racial wealth gap, links to resources, and policies and practices from the B Corp community. Topics in the guide include:

• Investing to Close the Racial Wealth Gap;
• Restructuring Financing Systems to Address the Racial Wealth Gap;
• Equitable Representation in Business Leadership;
• Hiring Practices and Employee Policies Rooted in Justice; and
• Storytelling to Advance Racial Justice.

For each, you’ll find specific B Corp examples and links to learn more about programs, policies, and resources to help businesses address the racial wealth gap and systemic racial inequality. 

Restructuring Business Practices and Services to Address the Racial Wealth Gap

By building on their founding missions and developing products and practices with a racial equity lens, B Corps are finding new ways to benefit their stakeholders and amplify their positive social and environmental impact. These businesses are innovating to increase employment opportunities, expand access to financial resources, and develop innovative policies and practices to help address the racial wealth gap and systemic racial inequity.

The downloadable guide includes stories and resources on B Corps and partner organizations, including: 

• Reinventure Capital and Greenwood Hayden Legacy Partners are Black-led investing funds and firms looking to bridge the racial wealth gap. Julianne Zimmerman, Managing Director at Reinventure Capital, says data shows that when people are given the same opportunity, professionals who are women or people of color perform at least as well as their white male peers. “That says that the processes need to change,” Zimmerman says. “We are working with our fund, and in cooperation with and collaboration with other funds, to knit together an ecosystem of capital providers who are operating differently — investing with better processes and for better outcomes.”
• Cascade Engineering has committed to becoming an anti-racist business (and is audited by Partners for a Racism Free Community, a third-party nonprofit, on its efforts) and has put in place various anti-racist programs and policies. These efforts include its Returning Citizens program, Welfare to Career program, Young Professionals of Color Conference, and other practices and opportunities.
• Darrin L. Williams, CEO of B Corp Southern Bancorp, and other financial industry leaders are developing ways to address historic and ongoing challenges of gaining access to capital for People of Color. “​​Black and brown businesses are continually denied access to capital and credit, and when they are granted access to capital and credit, they aren’t given as much as they ask for,” he said during a B Lab U.S. & Canada webinar.
• At B Corp LimeRed, President and Founder Emily Lonigro uses four guidelines to promote equal pay, starting with never asking for a salary history. B Corps — including smaller enterprises — provide real-world examples of pay equity reviews and processes. 
• Common Interests, an impact-investing and financial planning B Corp firm, partnered with a network of other financial firms to create an internship and mentorship program that recruits from historically Black colleges and universities.
• B Lab U.S. & Canada launched a Learning Journeys training program to provide the B Corp community with tools to strengthen its knowledge of racially equitable, inclusive, and climate justice-centered business practices.