Principle 1: Awareness
Start with recognition and acknowledgement that current financial and economic systems are founded and hence affected by a spectrum of systemic and other historical and geographic factors such as racism, discrimination, colonialism. This creates power and structural imbalances in which relationships become transactions.
Actions: Investment Process
Understand that gender and race-disaggregated data impacts investment decisions
Undertaking JEDI analysis such as a pay gap audit to uncover differences by gender, race and ethnicity across different levels of leadership and the wider workforce. This analysis, its findings and implications can then be integrated into the due diligence process and support the creation of an underlying JEDI action plan when a transaction is underway.
Resource
Refine the investment thesis
Be introspective, investigate and understand the deeper social context in which investments are made.
Case Study
Global Partnerships
Deepening Inclusion Through an Intersectional Lens: An interview with Tara Murphy Forde
Actions: Organisation
Be clear on your ‘Why’
Develop clarity on how the organisation’s mission is grounded or influenced by JEDI concepts. This area of enquiry is the starting point in understanding how these concepts impact mission and strategic direction. This in turn influences the investment strategy, core operations, recruitment, leadership, and other areas.
Resource
MacArthur Foundation
’Just Imperative’ framing and code of conduct/policies
Align on the risks
Continually build awareness of the risks of not paying attention to a gender and JEDI lens. At the investment level, this is about burgeoning consumer demand i.e. missed market opportunity, or the risk of not having a diverse leadership or investment team. Furthermore, organisational risks can include limited employee pipeline, a less diverse workforce, employee disenfranchisement, and turnover.