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JEDI Commitment

At The SHE Mark (“SHE”), we believe gender equality is an everyone issue. Underpinning this core value is the belief that all people deserve to be treated, respected, and valued equally. Because of this, and in consideration of the many ways our society and systems have historically and currently disadvantage certain people, we have intentionally built The SHE Mark on a foundation of

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion:

 

It is important to us to maintain our values through our actions and choices in consideration of how that impacts our company and its culture, and how we impact the world around us. The SHE Mark is a social enterprise, and we are deeply aware of the responsibilities that this carries, as we work to create a new narrative of the relationship between consumers, employees, and companies, driving changes rooted in truth and public awareness to promote economic equity. We have built DEI (standing for diversity, equity, and inclusion) into our operations at every level as a reflection of our values. Every single person working for our company is engaged on this matter as a formal aspect of their job performance.

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We recognize our responsibility to use our platform and resources to amplify voices that continue to be marginalized, and to take actions that impact change. In particular, we recognize the ways in which feminism has been weaponized against Black people and people of color and has historically upheld White Supremacy; all femmes do not face the same unequal treatment. Any feminism that doesn’t account for intersecting aspects of identity that impact an individual’s relationship with systemic oppression is not effective feminism.
 

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While the business case for diversity is thorough, presenting it alone is a relic of past, traditional corporate structures, where profits are the only goal; As a Benefit Corporation, we find sufficient reasoning to increase diversity and inclusion in the term "justice," as in, it is right, moral, and just to make efforts to include people of all backgrounds, and understand why and how they may have been and currently are being systematically excluded. We want to be clear that any assumptions or beliefs that prioritizing diversity of background, thought, and experience means needing to lower the bar or expectations of the people with whom one works are incorrect - research shows that diverse and inclusive organizations have greater profitability and innovation, and have smarter teams.

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This Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion report will outline for you the ways in which we have built DEI and anti-racism into our operations, and the goals we have for the future (and how we intend to work towards them). We understand the importance of educating the public about social, political, and economic issues that impact equity in the workforce and around the world. We empower consumers to take responsibility for their individual impact on the world and the economy, and are committed to highlighting voices and promoting resources to uplift institutionally oppressed and excluded people in the workforce. 

Even though half of all women-owned businesses are owned by women of color, those businesses make up only 23% of total women-owned businesses' revenue. That's less than a quarter of what white-women-owned businesses make! If women-of-color-owned businesses were to earn at parity with white-women-owned businesses, it would add almost $1 billion to the global economy.

 

2019 The State of Women-Owned Businesses, American Express

"A credible and powerful case [for diversity on teams] can be made, however, with three critical modifications. First, platitudes must give way to sound, empirically based conclusions. Second, business leaders must reject the notion that maximizing shareholder returns is paramount; instead they must embrace a broader vision of success that encompasses learning, innovation, creativity, flexibility, equity, and human dignity. Finally, leaders must acknowledge that increasing demographic diversity does not, by itself, increase effectiveness; what matters is how an organization harnesses diversity, and whether it’s willing to reshape its power structure."

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Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case, by Robin J. Ely and David A. Thomas, Harvard Business Review December 2020

How we currently incorporate DEI into our operations:

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We take initiative:

  • We organized as a Benefit Corporation;

  • We have developed formal meetings operations in consideration of creating an inclusive meeting environment;

  • We offer our employees opportunities to seek out education that will further our/their understanding of diverse life experiences and their impact on opportunities:

    • SHE will reimburse employees’ pre-approved educational expenses where the education sought is intended to grow their understanding of DEI, corporate social responsibility, management and promotion; and,

    • SHE regularly offers community education events, sourcing online education opportunities that can be accessed by all employees, such as inclusivity and accessibility workshops.

  • We have set aside non-traditional paid holidays in consideration of their significance as opposed to simply their historical use

    • For example, Election day is a paid holiday, as is Juneteenth and Indigenous People's Day 

  • We commit to seeking out diverse, sustainable contractors and partners, instead of simply going with what’s easiest or cheapest;

  • We’re building out a library of books and other written resources to educate our employees on diversity, inclusion, conscious capitalism, etc. This library is made available to all of our employees as they request. You can find a list of the books that are already in our library, here;

  • We are committed to being an educational resource for all members of our community, sharing information regarding gender equality in the economy around the world; 

  • We have set aside 250 applications which will be offered at no cost to companies owned by systemically excluded demographics; and,

  • We have implemented accessibility measures across our sales, media, and communication channels by including copy descriptions of visual images, using CamelCase for any hashtags or long strings of words, and by adding captions to all audiovisual content shared on social media. 

    • ​We’ve also added the UserWay accessibility widget to our website to allow for a multitude of navigation options when using our website. You can peruse the widget and all of its functionalities by clicking the small purple circle in the bottom left corner of your screen.

  • For the hiring and onboarding we have done, we have de-identified our hiring and interview protocols, removing the opportunity for unconscious bias;​

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We take inventory:

  • SHE is conscious of diversifying where and with whom we spend our money, as well as who we feature in our communications and database - working to ensure that the breadth of companies and people with whom we work and interact is representative of the diversity in the world;

    • We regularly review our external communications to ensure they reflect the true diversity of society;

    • All applications for a SHE Mark request additional demographic information, so we can regularly audit representation in the SHE Certified Community and be sure that our marks and database reach and represent an accurately broad swath of communities and individuals; and

    • When reviewing options of businesses and contractors with which to spend money, we research ownership and management and inquire closely into employee happiness and consideration to be sure that a potential contractor is in line with our values. 

  • Currently, at The SHE Mark;

    • We have two full-time employees, one of whom is a White woman, and one of whom is a  semitic, gender nonbinary femme/woman; and

    • In the last year, we have worked with 15 contractors and businesses, of which:

      • ​All but two are small businesses (fewer than 500 employees);
        6 are owned and/or operated by women or gender-diverse people, and 3 are gender-equally co-owned; and
        4 are owned by non-White people.

 

How we plan to continue this work going forward:

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We stay interested:

  • We will continue investing in our employees’ education:

    • By hiring educators to and reimbursing for paid events that teach our employees how to incorporate these considerations into our operations, and inform and educate our employees on our impact in society; and

    • By hiring a diverse swath of educators to ensure we are learning from multiple people with various perspectives and experiences, and to avoid “only burnout” from our advisors and teachers;

  • While we currently encourage uncomfortable conversations as they arise, we are in the process of developing a formal and regularly scheduled employee review and feedback process

    • We are developing a considerate communications plan, which will be included in all new employee on-boarding; 

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We expand upon and maintain inclusiveness:

  • As we move towards being able to expand our team, we are developing a plan rooted in what research shows will ensure we meet our diversity and inclusion goals

    • This will include continuing our de-identified hiring practices, as well as internal application of the Rooney Rule; 

    • Diversity goals will continue to be communicated as requirements of their position and reviewed in their formal employee reviews; and,

    • We will also include this in our onboarding process, including communication of our values, internal tracking and regular auditing of employee demographics and attendant diversity and inclusion goals, and ongoing initial-stage employment reviews

  • We have formalized procedures to measure and address the results of stakeholder engagement by auditing and reporting this information; and

  • We are developing an Advisory Board to assist in our company’s growth and innovation, and we are working to ensure that there will be broad representation on such a Board, and additionally, we intend to create specific spaces for underrepresented and institutionally oppressed voices to be heard on each.

We intend to use our privilege and our platform to amplify the voices of people who are gender diverse, Black, Indigineous, and of various nationalities, ethnicities, and other diverse backgrounds. Indeed, the purpose and goal of The SHE Mark as a company is to highlight businesses that hire and promote gender equitably. We are committed to transparency and accountability as we work to build an inclusive company and a more equitable world, and so we will maintain this page on our site, and will update it each year.

It is of utmost importance to us at The SHE Mark that everyone in our community be treated with respect. We are on the precipice of a conscious-capitalism revolution, and we encourage everyone to inform themselves and incorporate what you learn into your everyday life - including your job, and in your purchasing decisions. If you’d like to be more regularly updated on our work, or if you’re looking for more ways to show up for your community, we will continue to share anti-racist and anti-sexist information and educational resources on our social media accounts:

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Our DEI efforts deserve specific highlight on this page, but you can learn more about the other ways The SHE Mark is considerate of its impact on people and planet in our Benefit Statement, our Accessibility Statement, and our Sustainability Commitment, which will also stay available on our site and which we will update regularly. While these documents are separated for individual focus and ease of information access, we want to stress that none of these documents, nor the efforts and intentions therein, stands alone; anti-racism is (and to be effective, must be) incorporated into all of The SHE Mark’s operations.

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We do not expect that we have everything correct, so we have created this anonymous submission form, where you can share ideas and criticisms regarding our DEI initiatives and their impact:
 

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If we ever fail in our mission to treat you or anyone equitably, we want to know about it. We believe wholeheartedly that everyone around the world has the right to self-determination, especially as regards their economic well-being, so please do not hesitate to reach out to us via that form or directly at ilana@theSHEmark.com
 

Before you go, we want you to know that you can and should hold all companies with which you engage to these or higher standards.

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Last updated as of: January 20, 2023.

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