Page 10 - BEQ Magazine Iss 21 rev01072022

ing businesses do more than make a profit, have
driven growth and interest,” Williams says.
Williams, who has been with B Lab since 2019,
is the organization’s inaugural JEDI director, a
job she says is a “great fit.” “I know for a fact that
the decisions that I make every day have a direct
correlation to the improved lives of thousands of
people around the globe. People who I will never
meet — who don’t even know who I am — might
experience a moment of affirmation or safety.
That makes it worth it. How could it not be?”
Williams experienced microaggressions and
systemic oppression during her previous roles in
academia. So, she appreciates that at B Lab she
helps to address JEDI issues on a societal scale by
addressing them on the smaller scale of individ-
ual corporations.
“I am a queer, Black woman in my thirties.
I’ve been obese, experiencing discrimination. I’ve
been diagnosed with disability. I am often the
‘only’ in a space. Being the youngest in a room
or the only woman or the only Black woman
comes with a set of challenges. The intersections
of my identities are not hidden,” she says. Years
of verbal abuse, undermining and other trans-
gressions took a toll on her mental and physical
health. When she learned that “B Corps strive to
put people first … that we all deserve a fighting
chance and that capitalism is a lever we can pull ELLONDA
WILLIAMS,
to create that change,” she was eager to work for director of
B Lab. justice, equity,
B Corp certification isn’t a one-and-done diversity and
process. As Williams says, companies must meet inclusion for
a set of requirements that “are complex and dif- B Lab .
ficult and require real action by the company.” B
Lab recertifies companies every three years, and
there are mechanisms for complaints to “ensure
that companies remain responsive to the stan-
dards and their stakeholders,” she says.
Williams acknowledges that B Corp certifi-
cation is inaccessible for some companies — the
lengthy, detailed process means organizations
must have the staff, time and financial resources
to pursue it. “I think most systems are inherently
inequitable unless they are actively built to be
equitable and continuously changed to ensure

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