In this episode we speak with Kayla Winarsky McKenzie of the Business for Social Responsbility (BSR). She is a recognised human rights expert and gives us some insights into her career journey and what issues made her specialise in this field.
Kayla gives us an overview of the role of business in human rights due diligence and governance, and reveals the problems at hand, focus areas, guiding standards and steps to take to mitigate human rights violations.
She also shares some materials from the WEF on boards and human rights (that BSR contributed to) which can be found here: Launch blog, Guidance note, Report.
Listen to the podcast:
About Kayla Winarsky McKenzie
Kayla collaborates with global companies on projects centering on the corporate responsibility to respect human rights as a Manager in the Human Rights team at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), where she is also the project manager for BSR's Human Rights Working Group. Her areas of expertise include consumer sectors, energy transition, anti-corruption, and gender.
Prior to joining BSR, Kayla spent several years advising multinational companies and investors on human rights as an Adviser at the Danish Institute for Human Rights, during which she also served as a Lecturer in Law at the University of Amsterdam, focusing on Business and Human Rights (BHR), international human rights, anti-corruption, and EU law. Previously, she worked on global anti-corruption investigations and cross-border white collar litigations as an Associate Attorney at the international law firm King & Spalding LLP, where she was the founding member of the firm's BHR initiative.
Kayla holds a JD and a Certificate in Global Human Rights from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, which included course work at the Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement, and a BA, Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude from Tulane University. She is a fellow of the Salzburg Global Seminar.
About 'Leadership Conversations by TSBR'
Leadership Conversations is a podcast by The Sustainability Board Report (TSBR), an independent not-for-profit project. We aim to showcase different dimensions of sustainable business leadership and corporate governance. In this podcast we interview global leaders who advocate for more positive societal impact and responsible business. Leadership Conversations is hosted by Frederik Otto and Helena Guðjónsdóttir.