VIEWPOINT | Why corporates should engage with social justice advocacy 

Corporate engagement with social justice advocacy is an important and overlooked area of responsible business. Such advocacy can enhance a company’s societal responsiveness and legitimacy, but the private sector typically shies away from engaging with it. Development practitioner Louise Jones shares her research insights.  

What is social justice advocacy? 

The social justice definition I like most is simply “Everyday justice in the lives of ordinary people”, as the Edmund Rice Centre puts it. Expanded further, it is about fairness and equity within economic, social, political and ecological systems. Add advocacy into the mix and social justice advocacy becomes action(s) taken to address structural unfairness and inequity. These actions can range from research, community mobilisation, information-sharing, capacity building, policy advocacy and litigation (at its most extreme).  

Examples of social justice issues include zero-rating public benefit organisations’ websites to enable free information and services for marginalised communities (the DG Murray Trust), school sanitation and the eradication of pit latrines (Section27) and tackling unscrupulous debt collection practices which disadvantage vulnerable debtors (Stellenbosch University Law Clinic).  

You conducted research into why South Africa’s private sector is reluctant to get involved in social justice advocacy. How was this research carried out and what are the key findings?  

While corporate social investment (CSI) efforts can contribute somewhat to socioeconomic development, advocacy work deepens social impact and extends corporate responsibly to the public sphere. To better understand why more corporates do not support social justice advocacy, I opted for a qualitative approach to my research and gathered data through 11 semi-structured interviews across three target groups: corporates not funding social justice advocacy; corporates funding social justice advocacy; and social justice organisations.  

Six inhibiting factors were identified: ignorance of social justice concepts; a fear of reputational risk; a short-term profit orientation; a compliance mindset; disconnectedness from their operating environment; and recognition that a business’ view of its purpose will determine its level of societal engagement. The fundamental premise is that having evidence-based insights into corporate rationale on this topic will enable more constructive engagements going forward. 

What are some of the conclusions drawn from your research? 

The metafindings show that corporate engagement with social justice advocacy is always going to hold ideological tension, which sits at the nexus of how a business views its role in society, how it manages its accountability and accessibility, and how it uses its power in the public sphere. Where a business conducts itself ethically, transparently and inclusively across these three areas, there will be less ideological tension with social justice advocacy. The reverse holds true as well. Corporates should integrate social justice advocacy into their sustainability strategies as part of regular business practice, but it is how they go about engaging in this space that is most important.  

Are there examples of business engagement with social justice advocacy? 

There are approximately 275 companies listed on the JSE and yet it is still difficult to find businesses who engage with social justice advocacy. Based on their annual reports, some corporates have taken steps towards advocacy work and these examples can help to stimulate new ways of thinking about corporate responsibility in the public sphere: 

• Futuregrowth Asset Management and Old Mutual Investment Group, working with shareholder advocacy organisation Just Share, funded independent research into whistle-blower protection in South Africa.  
• Massmart funds Section27, a nonprofit legal advocacy organisation and, more recently, research into drivers of gender-based violence and alcohol abuse in South Africa, through the Wits University Female Academic Leadership Fellowship.  
• Standard Bank has an Expanded Democracy Support Programme to strengthen systems of democracy and its stakeholder engagement strategy includes special interest and advocacy groups, analysts, researchers and think tanks. This formalises access for more diverse stakeholders, including potentially critical voices. 

What are your recommendations to companies that want to get involved? 

Businesses can get involved responsibly with social justice advocacy by formally integrating social justice advocacy into their corporate sustainability strategy to strengthen the public sphere. This speaks to the ‘S’ in environmental, social and governance principles and should (ideally) be board-approved and CEO-led. Companies should also develop a stakeholder engagement policy that includes social justice partners and specialists to inform their social justice policy. This formalises access and opens valuable channels for dialogue.  

Further recommendations include funding social justice organisations that will capacitate civil society and advance advocacy work, having leaders speak out on the social issues companies are driving and avoiding an ad hoc approach with a ‘business-as-usual’ mindset. Corporates should be value-invested in the long-term social change they are working towards.