Equitable Enterprise
Catalyzing pathways to more equitable work and wealth for the next generation
We are in the midst of an economic transition reminiscent of the shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy. It is re-shaping the nature of work and jobs with fewer people engaged in formal full-time employment at companies that offer good wages and benefits, i.e. asset-building work. Instead, the number of “good” jobs has been steadily declining, widening economic polarization. Income earned through the labor market has been the primary mechanism for distributing economic resources in our economy. Increasingly, however, work and jobs are failing to provide the economic security promised to American families. Wage stagnation, the disappearance of asset-rich jobs that provide basic health or retirement benefits as well as widely distributed stock ownership, the expansion of low-wage jobs, and the growing polarization of jobs and wages are widening economic inequality.
This is why, with the support from several foundations—including the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Ford Foundation—IFTF has created the Equitable Enterprise Initiative that will serve as a hub for research, scenario building, public engagement, and policy innovations aimed at promoting establishment and growth of more equitable enterprises.
What is an “equitable enterprise”?
Simply put, it is an enterprise that creates good jobs, gives people an opportunity for advancement, contributes to the community it resides in, and makes a positive impact on the broader world.
It can also be thought of as an approach to creating opportunities, developing practices, and building institutions that distribute assets equitably among those who contribute value to the system. It’s a foundation for good jobs. But it’s much more. It’s a broad-based effort to reverse decades-long policies and practices based on the idea that the only social responsibility of business is to increase shareholder profits. Instead, the premise of the Equitable Enterprise Initiative is that the only social responsibility of business is to maximize the community wellbeing and equitable distribution of economic returns from its activities.
JOIN US here to receive regular updates from our diverse group of advisors from academia, community activists, civic leaders, innovators in business, health, educational institutions who are joining IFTF to shape scenarios for a more equitable future.
Resources
- Re-Working the Future:Strategies for Building Enterprises in the 21st Century, Essay by Marina Gorbis
- Keynote: Building More Equitable Enterprise, IFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis, September 2021
- A map of the territories of opportunities, key levers and strategies, IFTF Equitable Enterprises Initiative, June 2022
In the Media
"Philanthropy Should Help Create Better Jobs, Not Just Better-Trained Workers" By Marina Gorbis (9/15/21). Chronicle of Philanthropy.
"Five Ways Business Schools Can Cultivate Better Leaders." By Rebecca Shamash (7/8/22). Stanford Social Innovation Review.