NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights

The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights is an academic research and advocacy organization at the New York University Stern School of Business founded in March 2013. It is the first center to focus on human rights as an integral part of business education.[1]

The Center is directed by Michael Posner, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and board chair of the Fair Labor Association[2] and Paul M. Barrett, deputy director of the Center, and a former reporter for Bloomberg News[3] [4][5]

The Center is a member of the Global Business School Network, an organization of more than 100 business schools in 50 countries, dedicated to investing in and fostering business leadership in the developing world.[6] The network is preparing to publish a curriculum toolkit for business schools to teach human rights as a core part of business education.

Background

The mission of the center is “to challenge and empower companies and future business leaders to make practical progress on human rights.”[7]

The Center conducts academic research and offers courses covering business and human rights topics to undergraduate and MBA students.[8] It also conducts policy advocacy aimed at changing business practices to be more respectful of human rights.[9]

Since 2017, the Center has focused on academic research and reporting around issues of technology and democracy, including online disinformation, social media content moderation policies, and Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act.[10] This initiative is led by Paul M. Barrett, deputy director of the Center and a former reporter for Bloomberg News.[11]

Working with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights and the Diverse Asset Managers Initiative, the Center convened in 2018 representatives from 13 of the largest college and university endowments in the United States to develop best practices to identify and hire diverse firms, owned by women and minorities to manage university funds.[12][13] In 2020, in a letter to the president of Harvard University, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and Rep. Joe Kennedy III called for greater transparency and efforts by the university’s investment office to hire diverse asset managers.[14][15]

Research

The Center conducts research across business sectors to examine how business practices influence human rights outcomes. The Center’s first major report “Business as Usual is Not an Option” was released in April 2014.[16][17] The report centered on the garment industry in Bangladesh and was launched on the first anniversary of the Rana Plaza building collapse.[18] Since then the Center conducted more studies of the readymade garment industry in Bangladesh. The Center’s research estimated more than 7,000 factories producing for the export textile market, roughly 2,000 more factories than had been previously estimated.[19] On the fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, the Center reported on gaps in the steps taken by those two efforts and the government of Bangladesh, and advocated for “shared responsibility.”[20] The Center provided testimony at a hearing about the Bangladesh RMG industry at the European Parliament.[21] The Center also studied the garment industry in Ethiopia at Hawassa Industrial Park finding that the wages paid to workers there were among the lowest factory wages in the world.[22][23] Shortly after the Center’s research was released, Ethiopia created a commission to set a minimum wage.[24]

In March 2017, the Center’s Sarah Labowitz and Casey O’Connor released a report, “Putting the ‘S’ in ESG: Measuring Human Rights Performance for Investors,” which found major gaps in companies’ environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives.[25][26] The report recommended establishing clearer standards for socially responsible investing.[27] “Harmful Content: The Role of Internet Platform Companies in Fighting Terrorist Incitement and Politically Motivated Disinformation,” published in November 2017, called on social media companies to address the problem of disinformation and recommended enhancing company governance, refining algorithms, and introducing more “friction” to users’ experiences.[28][29] The Center published three reports on online disinformation and its impact on American society and elections: "Combating Russian Disinformation," in July 2018,[30][31] "Tackling Domestic Disinformation," in March 2019[32][33] and "Disinformation and the 2020 Election," in September 2019.[34][35] In June 2020, the Center published “Who Moderates the Social Media Giants? A Call to End Outsourcing.”[36][37]

The Center has studied the treatment of migrant workers in the construction industry in Persian Gulf region including practices like charging workers exorbitant recruitment fees, employers withholding workers’ passports, mandatory overtime and crowded dormitories.[38][39][40] This has been an ongoing human rights concern for construction projects such as 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and NYU’s portal campus New York University Abu Dhabi.[41]

Advocacy

The Center seeks to increase respect for human rights in different sectors by participating in public debates[42] and convening meetings and events.[43][44]

See also

References
  1. Elizabeth Rowe (2013-07-26). "NYU's Michael Posner: Bringing Human Rights to B-School - Bloomberg Business". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  2. "MICHAEL POSNER NAMED CHAIR OF FAIR LABOR ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS". Fair Labor Association. Fair Labor Association. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  3. Barrett, Paul. "Why Instagram could be a major site for disinformation in the 2020 US election". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  4. "The Impetus for the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights". YouTube. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  5. "Paul M. Barrett". The Conversation. The Conversation US, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. "Network". Global Business School Network. Global Business School Network. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  7. "The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights Joins GNI". Global Network Initiative. 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  8. "Stern Center Brings Human Rights into Business Education - Poets & Quants for Undergrads Poets & Quants for Undergrads". Poetsandquantsforundergrads.com. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  9. Bradshaw, Della (2013-07-14). "Stern centre aims to show there is good business in human rights". FT.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  10. "Technology". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. New York University. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  11. "Team". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. New York University. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  12. McCauley, Kerin. "The Role of Universities in Addressing Racial and Gender Equity in the Asset Management Industry". Intentional Endowments Network. Intentional Endowments Network. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  13. McCauley, Kerin (August 18, 2020). "Advancing Equity in the Investment Sector". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. "Letter" (PDF). Harvard Management Company. Harvard University. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. "Letter" (PDF). Harvard Management Co. Harvard University. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. "Report: A Year After Bangladesh Disaster, Retailers Fail To Address Biggest Factory Risks". Forbes.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  17. Sarah Butler. "Bangladesh garment workers still vulnerable a year after Rana Plaza | World news". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  18. "Disney and Other Big Brands Need to Address the Real Challenges to Outsourcing". NYTimes.com. 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  19. "Beyond the Tip of the Iceberg". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  20. Russell, Michelle (April 19, 2018). "On the fifth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, the Center reported on gaps in the steps taken by those two efforts and the government of Bangladesh, and advocated for "shared responsibility."". Just-Style. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  21. Posner, Michael (February 11, 2020). "How To Move Bangladesh Factory Safety Forward". Forbes. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  22. Barrett, Paul; Baumann-Pauly, Dorothee. "Made in Ethiopia: Challenges in the Garment Industry's New Frontier". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  23. AP (May 7, 2019). "Report: Ethiopia's garment workers are world's lowest paid". CNBC.
  24. Astatike, Dawit (May 13, 2019). "Commission to set national minimum wage". Capital. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  25. O’Connor, Casey; Labowitz-Pauly, Sarah. "Putting the 'S' in ESG: Measuring Human Rights Performance for Investors". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  26. Alina, Dizik (June 24, 2019). "The Difficulty of Measuring a Company's Social Impact". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  27. Frazer, Steven (June 20, 2019). "The ultimate guide to ESG investing". Shares magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  28. "Harmful Content: The Role of Internet Platform Companies in Fighting Terrorist Incitement and Politically Motivated Disinformation". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  29. Grigonis, Hillary K. (February 19, 2018). "Governments are stepping in to regulate social media, but there may be a better way". DigitalTrends. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  30. Barrett, Paul; Wadhwa, Tara; Baumann-Pauly, Dorothee. ""Combating Russian Disinformation," dealing with Russian disinformation campaigns;". Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  31. Barrett, Paul (March 14, 2019). "The Disinformation Problem Starts at Home". Wired. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  32. Barrett, Paul. "Tackling Domestic Disinformation;". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  33. Barrett, Paul (March 14, 2019). "The Disinformation Problem Starts at Home". Wired. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  34. Barrett, Paul. "Disinformation and the 2020 Election". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  35. Silverstein, Jason (September 3, 2019). "Instagram could be biggest target for disinformation in 2020 election". CBS News. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  36. Zakrzewski, Kat (June 8, 2020). "The Technology 202: NYU report calls social media titans to stop outsourcing content moderation". The Washington Post. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  37. Barrett, Paul. "Who Moderates the Social Media Giants". NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  38. Batrawy, Aya (April 16, 2017). "Study: Arab Gulf migrants abused". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The Associated Press. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  39. Segall, David; Labowitz, Sarah. "Making Workers Pay" (PDF). NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  40. Malo, Sebastien (April 11, 2017). "Millions of migrant Gulf workers forced to pay for right to work: report". Reuters. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  41. Kaminer, Ariel; O’Driscoll, Sean (May 18, 2014). "Workers at N.Y.U.'s Abu Dhabi Site Faced Harsh Conditions". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  42. "Universities Can Put Their Economic Clout to Good Use - The Chronicle of Higher Education". Chronicle.com. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
  43. "Doing Business in Bangladesh". The New York Times. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
  44. "Events —". Christinebader.com. Retrieved 2016-03-18.

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