The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter | Issue 27

Feb 21, 2025

Dear Colleagues:

Not long ago in this newsletter we were discussing corporate lay-offs in the global tech sector. Now for the international humanitarian assistance sector, it’s government and civil society lay-offs, massive structural disruption, and more.

A good number of former students and current professional colleagues have been in touch about possible next chapters in their careers. I’m no expert on careers and can only commend (i) the list of jobs in this newsletter (check the previous few issues too because a number of roles remain open and may not reappear in each subsequent newsletter), and (ii) the guest practitioner interviews. I always find so many practical insights and even inspiration in the answers our guests share.

Speaking of insights and wisdom, be sure to read the interview this issue with Sarah Altschuller, Director, ESG, and Global Head, Business & Human Rights Program at Verizon Communications. Sarah also co-teaches a seminar on business & human rights law at Georgetown University Law Center and is one of the smartest and most knowledgeable people anywhere on all topics ESG and business and human rights, whether it’s about tech, labor, the environment, you name it.

This particular section of one of Sarah’s answers strikes me as such a wise combination of principle and practice and of being realistic and also optimistic. This sentiment has been a throughline among all our guest practitioners and perhaps is a necessary trait in the field of business and human rights. So many challenges spread across so many opportunities. Here’s Sarah:

“I am a firm believer in the power of normative expectations and in the potential of incremental changes – and, since 2011, the UNGPs have provided a set of baseline expectations against which practitioners both inside and outside companies can align in pushing for constant change and improvement across all industries. Today, as we see the emergence of more hard law requirements, and when discussions regarding human rights impacts are more commonplace in corporate settings, I still reflect back on just how far things have come in a relatively short period of time.”

If you know of friends or colleagues who are considering a next career chapter that could involve the intersection of tech, policy, law, and human rights, send them the newsletter, some of the job listings here, or just a copy of some of the careers insights from the guest practitioners who’ve shared so generously with us here over the years. Thank you for being a part of that Sarah, especially now.

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 feel very lucky to have had a career in the business & human rights space during a time of such tremendous evolution. I first started researching and writing about the human rights impact of corporate activity in the late 1990s, when I worked as an analyst for a socially responsible investment firm. At that time, there was certainly no agreement that companies had human rights responsibilities and our analysis relied primarily on anecdotes and discussions of reputational risk. I then went to law school with the intent of focusing on the human rights responsibilities of business, at a time when most of the discussion revolved around either voluntary codes or litigation. It was after I graduated from law school, and began practicing as an attorney that we saw the tremendous upsurge in activity and attention around corporate human rights responsibilities that ultimately led to the adoption of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights and to initiatives like the Global Network Initiative. That was a really exciting time -- especially to see the tremendous work of John Ruggie and his team culminate in a rapid “convergence of expectations” [to quote Ruggie himself] regarding the business responsibility to assess and manage human rights impacts. I am a firm believer in the power of normative expectations and in the potential of incremental changes – and, since 2011, the UNGPs have provided a set of baseline expectations against which practitioners both inside and outside companies can align in pushing for constant change and improvement across all industries. Today, as we see the emergence of more hard law requirements, and when discussions regarding human rights impacts are more commonplace in corporate settings, I still reflect back on just how far things have come in a relatively short period of time.

🎙️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?

💬 I am sustained by both the dynamic nature of business & human rights law and the belief that the work that business & human rights practitioners, in all industry sectors fields, are doing important, meaningful work. In the digital rights space, I think that the expectations for business with respect to human rights impacts that have been set in both soft law, and increasingly, in hard law, establish important guardrails as we all assess both the risks and opportunities of emerging technologies. There will always be setbacks, but the potential for positive change is constant. With respect to digital rights, the scale and magnitude of the challenges keeps growing as we address both retrenched authoritarianism and the tremendous potential impacts of AI on society. In that context, the work we are able to do, especially in multi-stakeholder contexts, feels continually valuable, if sometimes daunting.

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

💬 Working inside a technology sector company, first and foremost, I am always learning from my colleagues. Not being a technologist by training, one of the things I have most enjoyed about in-house work is the chance to work alongside – and learn from - smart and talented people who are working every day to improve peoples’ lives through technology. I like meeting with specialists in AI or individual product managers to hear what they are doing to address the power of new technologies. The conversations are collegial and reciprocal -- they have a lot to offer me and my team with respect to advancing our understanding of specific technologies and products, and, in turn, we bring a lot to them in terms of helping them understand expectations and requirements with respect to the management of human rights impacts.
I am also always learning about both policy developments and the human rights impacts of new technologies through engagement with industry peers and other technology sector stakeholders. I participate in a variety of groups, ranging from formal initiatives like the Global Network Initiative and The B-Tech Project to more informal peer groups with colleagues at other companies.

🎙️What’s a specific event when you feel like your team’s or organization’s work (or your own work) was able to make a significant impact in the field of digital rights?

💬 I’m proud of the work that we’ve done at Verizon since launching the Business & Human Rights Program, a dedicated human rights legal team, back in 2018. As many know, the origins of our team lie at Yahoo, which Verizon acquired in 2017. (Verizon has divested Yahoo in 2021.) After a decision was made to take Yahoo’s approach and adopt it to a large telecommunications company, we were able to take on a whole new set of challenges and to do so as the first dedicated human rights team at a U.S. telecommunications provider. Since our launch, I think our team has really done some industry-leading work, with some highlights including the completion of both an HRIA of 5G and 5G-enabled technologies and a Child Rights Impact Assessment of our operations. We’ve also worked closely with internal colleagues on projects ranging from the development of Verizon’s AI Principles to the integration of human rights questions and considerations into consultations with communities across the United States, in both rural and urban areas and in both English and Spanish. This work is innovative and exciting and I believe that we’re having an impact both inside the company and setting important benchmarks within the industry.

🎙️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?

The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter

The BHR Group Digital Rights Careers Newsletter | Issue 27

Guest Spotlight

Positions in Policy, Law, and Digital Rights

Civil Society/Non-Profits

Press/Media

Boards

Academia

International Organizations

Think Tanks/Research Institutions

Multi-Stakeholder Organizations/Initiatives

Government

Industry

Industry Associations

Firms/Consultancies