Hey Snackers,
It's the last day of 2020 (#bless), and also the final day of our Snacks Digested 2020 series. Yesterday, we covered The Great App-scape. Today, we’re looking at a major shift for corporations.
The Dow index closed at a record high yesterday, and is up 5% for the year. The S&P 500 is up 15% for 2020, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index has soared a whopping 42%.
PS: We won't be in your inbox tomorrow since the market is closed for New Year's.
Corporate steps up... 2020 was a year of cries for change and tragic injustices. This raised our expectations of company leadership, and caused a seismic shift in how corporations view their responsibility to society. Companies that saw themselves as pure profit-makers started taking on the role of change-makers.
Racial Equality: A series of deaths of Black Americans at the hands of police spurred months of protests across the US. On a single day in June, half a million people participated in demonstrations seeking justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and all Black lives. In addition to this massive civic reaction, corporations also took action, making record-setting donations to racial justice groups across America.
Diversity in the Workplace: Companies also made big moves toward more diversity in the workplace, starting with the corporate boardroom.
Environmental Causes: Companies stepped up their commitments to reducing environmental harm.
“No comment” is no longer an option... For decades, corporations' only focus was returning value to shareholders through profits. In 2020, silence and inaction on important societal issues is no longer accepted — our expectations of companies’ responsibilities have changed. And in some cases, like Nasdaq's board diversity push, these companies can even act as de facto lawmakers.
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Disclosure: Authors of this Snacks own share of JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Amazon
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