What happens when a company you support has a case of wide spread discrimination that directly effects a group you identify with?
This isn’t a black and white answer because it something that we see everyday in the news. There is always a new article about a company that has discriminated against people of color or a company that as far as they go back pay women less wages compared to their male counter parts. So how we we respond to these companies and places of business that have these issues going on is very important. This is because if the companies face no backlash or if it is forgotten about in a mere week then they think it is not a big enough deal that they need to focus their time and money on. I am not perfect I have definitely supported companies that I know don’t do the right things or make decisions to better there company. Through the last three years I have been trying to become a more conscious consumer and support companies that are striving to end wage gaps and make there company a better place for groups that get discriminated against but I am still not perfect and have a lot of room to grow. If a company that I currently supported came out in a big scandal about how they have had longstanding issues that they have not tried to address I would make a conscious decision to try to avoid supporting this company because I think it is important that these companies understand they need to start making a change or they will lose business and supporters.
Hi Ellen,
This post made me feel a little bit better about my choices when supporting companies. I always try and not support companies that values don’t fit mine, but sometimes I find it hard to know the values of the companies that I am buying from. Like you said, I think a lot of these reports kind of get washed away by everything happening in the news every day. If I know that a company is discriminating against employees, I try my best not to purchase from these places, but I am far from perfect. With that being said, I am diligently trying to change the choices I am making. I think it is important to be aware of the companies that have discriminatory practices, and then decide how we want to use this information. My question for you is, how would you feel if a company you applied to work for had a scandal surrounding them after you had interviewed with the company? Would this affect your views around working there?