COVID-19 could be dire for working women; Duke Energy CEO talks climate, race

The ESG Insider newsletter compiles news and insights on environmental, social and governance developments driving change in business and investment decisions. Subscribe to our ESG Insider newsletter, and listen to the latest ESG Insider podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify or Apple podcasts.

By Lindsey White, October 21, 2020

"It's going to be a disaster."

That's what Natasha Lamb, managing partner at sustainable investment firm Arjuna Capital LLC, told ESG Insider when asked how the pandemic will impact women in the workforce. Lamb talked to us as part of a research report that S&P Global published this week in partnership with AARP about how family leave policies are evolving in the U.S. private sector. The research found that employees are spending much more time on family care duties now than prior to the pandemic; employees also report a marked increase in their stress levels.

As the investor community puts increasing emphasis on sustainability issues in general and treatment of employees in particular, corporate America is responding in real time with creative solutions and new policies. As Corporate Vice President of Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure at Microsoft Rani Borkar told us in the latest episode of the ESG Insider podcast: "The only certainty now is we need to be flexible."

Click here to read the full article.