The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter | Issue 26

Jan 27, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

We’ve completed a decade of sending around postings for internships, fellowships, and jobs at the intersection of tech, policy, law, and human rights. What began as a simple email to former students has turned into a free monthly digital newsletter with hundreds of listings each issue, guest practitioner interviews, and nearly 4,000 subscribers. Thank you to my brilliant colleague Rebeca who has done all the work on the newsletter.

I’m pleased our first interview of this new year is with a friend and professional colleague I’ve known for nearly twenty years, Dunstan Allison-Hope. We met during the earliest multi-stakeholder discussions about a code of conduct in the tech sector that eventually became the Global Network Initiative. Dunstan is one of the most thoughtful and knowledgeable people you will meet on the topic of business and human rights. I have learned a ton from him over the years.

In the interview, he shares a big spoonful of insights. Here’s just a taste:

This taught me the value of doing something for the first time and that the best work comes from collaboration, learning from others, and sourcing good ideas from many different people and professions.
It was empowering to create something new and realize the potential to achieve impact in a business context.
Too often, we consider applying a new standard or regulation as a linear activity, like putting a coin in a slot and compliance coming out the other side. In practice, real human beings shape how the work gets done, and there are plenty of variables to shape and influence along the way.
The downside of doing something for the first time is knowing that it will be critiqued for its shortcomings and that everything that comes afterward will undoubtedly be much better—so you put in all that effort, only for the thing you have just done to become the worst of its kind! It is essential to keep this perspective in mind, prepare yourself for it, and not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.
I remember one person telling me that they built their entire career on the premise that obvious insights from one profession are often considered novel or groundbreaking in another.
My most unconventional strategy, however, is undoubtedly my Marmite profile picture on Zoom. A three-minute conversation about my love for Marmite has been the secret to several significant business and human rights advances. I jest, but only up to a point…

I respect, admire, and learn from all of Dunstan’s views expressed here; that said, having been raised in a Persian household myself on dishes like fesenjan and ghormeh sabzi (if you know, you know), I don’t fully understand his love for the English “food” called Marmite! Dunstan has of course proven his point once again because, well, it’s an engaging way to start a good conversation. Just more practical advice as always, thank you Dunstan!

Sincerely,

Michael Samway
The Business and Human Rights Group
Website: www.thebhrgroup.com

Guest Spotlight

🎙️What are some of the most formative period or events in your life, personal or professional, that shaped your work in technology and human rights?

💬 I first encountered the technology and human rights field when co-facilitating the multi-stakeholder process to create the Global Network Initiative. This occurred between early 2006 and late 2008, which meant we had no UNGPs to steer us and only a nascent technology and human rights profession to draw from.
In one early meeting, I remember using a whiteboard to list some of the most significant freedom of expression and privacy challenges companies face and brainstorm a principled but practical approach to address them. I think that was the day we first met, Michael! This taught me the value of doing something for the first time and that the best work comes from collaboration, learning from others, and sourcing good ideas from many different people and professions.
Writing this reminds me of my time as a 21-year-old representative on the Board of the UK National Union of Students Services Limited, which bought the food and beverages sold on every university campus in the UK. It was 1996, and I was asked to develop the company’s ethical and environmental procurement approach. I had just graduated with a history and politics degree, so I had no relevant experience, and corporate responsibility was barely a field back then; however, it was empowering to create something new and realize the potential to achieve impact in a business context.

🎙️How do you continue doing what you do, pushing and advocating for digital rights, and human rights more broadly? How do you deal in a sustainable way for yourself with the frustrations or set-backs in this work and also acknowledge and build-on the progress?

💬 For me, it is about finding opportunities to do something for the first time. A recent example is helping companies undertake Digital Services Act (DSA) systemic risk assessments. Much assessment work can be very rote and repetitive, but the opportunity to shape real-life, first-of-a-kind assessments was worthwhile. Too often, we consider applying a new standard or regulation as a linear activity, like putting a coin in a slot and compliance coming out the other side. In practice, real human beings shape how the work gets done, and there are plenty of variables to shape and influence along the way.
The downside of doing something for the first time is knowing that it will be critiqued for its shortcomings and that everything that comes afterward will undoubtedly be much better—so you put in all that effort, only for the thing you have just done to become the worst of its kind! It is essential to keep this perspective in mind, prepare yourself for it, and not let the perfect become the enemy of the good.

🎙️Who are some people or an individual you’ve met during your work in this field who have/has had profound influence on your work? And in what way?

💬 There are so many! When creating new content or providing advice, there are several people who I find myself wondering, “What would they think?”. Roya Pakzad, Rebecca MacKinnon, Christina Colclough, Paloma Munoz, and Ebele Okobi all spring to mind. All five pursue innovative work where they think for themselves, bring a unique perspective, and create something authentic rather than starting from a pre-formulated answer and working towards it.
My wife Jamie works in an adjacent field (philanthropy), but I have learned a lot from seeing how she leads through strategy, innovation, and collaboration. Alison Taylor is a good read for those in technology and human rights who want to get a feel for the broader sustainable business field. Alison’s principled, informed, and pragmatic approach certainly influences my own.

🎙️What are some ways you think the technology, policy, and human rights fields can become more diverse, inclusive, equitable, and accessible in composition, policy topics, learning, and advocacy?

💬 When I left BSR after 20 years, I wrote A Letter to Fellow White People of Just and Sustainable Business that attempted to provide some practical advice about how to address the lack of progress on equity, inclusion, and justice in the field of just and sustainable business.

🎙️For current practitioners in this field, and given your own career experience, what are some considerations you think are worth taking into account when deciding whether to change sectors, say from civil society or academia to the private sector? Or from the private sector to government or civil society?

💬 Do it! The technology and human rights field will benefit tremendously from people moving from one sector to another. A formative experience in my career was my master’s degree in sustainable development. I didn’t set foot on a university campus; instead, I worked at an NGO, local government authority, national government department, business, investor, and media outlet for one month each. I learned about how sustainability and human rights can be advanced in each sector, and this taught me how the world can look very different from each vantage point. This experience has been far more critical in my career than any technical experience I have gained along the way.
I remember one person telling me that they built their entire career on the premise that obvious insights from one profession are often considered novel or groundbreaking in another. I think this is true of technology and human rights, and I hope it provides some reassurance for those contemplating a shift. During my early days at BSR (a non-profit organization) I benefited enormously from having some idea of how companies operate in practice from my five years at BT (a global company).

🎙️What are some of the sources you turn to when building knowledge or keeping informed on tech, policy, law, and human rights related issues?

💬 I have a two-part strategy. I read the Financial Times every day, which provides a solid foundation for what is happening in the world and the broader context in which technology exists. Then, I read whatever happens to pop up in my various feeds and embrace the unexpected. Other than the Financial Times, I prefer reading widely to having a go-to source.

🎙️What’s an event or period professionally from which you’ve learned a great deal, either about yourself or about a topic or a way of doing things/advocating inside an organization?

💬 I have learned much about human rights assessments, especially the voluntary assessments undertaken between 2015 – 2023. Being the external voice hired to provide independent recommendations has strengthened the hand of those inside companies, but I have also learned the importance of companies taking ownership of human rights assessments themselves and leading them internally. Similarly, while a moment-in-time human rights assessment can provide an excellent starting point, the pressure to “get everything right” can be overwhelming, and both technology and the social context constantly change, making them quickly out of date. The moment-in-time human rights assessment still has its place—before major strategic shifts, for example—but I have become much more of an advocate of ongoing human rights due diligence that may not have analytical perfection but engages far more teams internally.

🎙️What are some obstacles you’ve faced in the digital rights field? And what are some unconventional strategies you find helpful when responding?

The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter

The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter | Issue 26

Guest Spotlight

Positions in Policy, Law, and Digital Rights

Civil Society/Non-Profits

Press/Media

Academia

International Organizations

Think Tanks/Research Institutions

Multi-Stakeholder Organizations/Initiatives

Government

Industry

Industry Associations

Firms/Consultancies