What Civil Rights Audits Are and Why Firms Do Them: QuickTake

Calls for U.S. companies to perform what are known as civil rights audits grew in the wake of the protests that erupted across the U.S. in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd. They’ve been promoted by advocates as a way to help corporations understand and address their role in creating or sustaining racial disparities. They’ve also been dismissed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Jamie Dimon for adding “bureaucracy and BS,” although his company later agreed to conduct a narrow analysis. Shareholders of Apple Inc. and Johnson & Johnson approved resolutions calling for audits at their annual meetings ...