Samsung

Samsung continues its efforts to reduce the gender digital divide through its DesArrolladoras (Developers) programme in Spain that trains women in programming. The company follows leading practices in supporting accessibility by adopting global standards, incorporating accessibility features in its products, and disclosing the number of people with disabilities it employs and the steps it takes to make the workplace accessible for them. Additionally, Samsung discloses data on how the economic value it generates is distributed among its stakeholders and calculates its sustainable value creation.

Samsung is a leader in supporting programmes to advance digital skills at all levels and to increase school connectivity. The company demonstrates best practice by administering its programmes through its subsidiaries, often in partnership with local governments and non-governmental organisations. It also reports participation metrics for its programmes. The company’s flagship programme Samsung Smart School supports schools in rural areas around the world by equipping them with smart devices for digital education.

Samsung has a high-level commitment to cybersecurity. The company also has various activities related to child online safety, such as partnering with organisations engaged on the issue, undertaking initiatives to educate parents and children on safe online use, providing parental controls for its products and operating a dedicated website for child online safety.

Samsung commits to open innovation by participating in several standards organisations as well as having open source projects. The company contributes to the tech innovation ecosystem through a venture capital fund and supporting start-ups as well as social enterprises through accelerators and incubators. Furthermore, Samsung aligns its initiatives with the SDGs. The company demonstrates its support for inclusive, diverse and ethical innovation by disclosing the locations of its research and development (R&D) facilities and the number of its women employees engaged in tech roles. The company also has an AI Ethics council and commits to ethical AI principles.

Samsung has an opportunity to contribute to providing access to digital technologies for vulnerable groups. Additionally, the company should disclose the income taxes it pays and its employment in its main countries of operation.

Samsung can improve its performance in digital skills development by disclosing its financial contribution to its programmes in this area and conducting third-party impact assessments for all its programmes.

While Samsung has a high-level commitment to cybersecurity, it should enhance disclosure on how responsibility for cybersecurity is managed within the company. The company should also disclose the number of data breaches it experiences. Additionally, even though it has a range of features for protecting children online, it should make a high-level policy commitment towards child online safety.

Samsung has the opportunity to support start-ups founded by persons from underrepresented groups. It can also incorporate human rights considerations into its AI ethics principles.

Samsung commits to respecting human rights and the ILO core labour rights. It also has a publicly available policy statement that expects its business relationships to commit to respecting the ILO core labour rights. Furthermore, Samsung identifies, assesses and takes action to address the salient human rights issues in its own operations and in its business relationships. However, the company lacks disclosure in identifying and engaging with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be impacted by its operations. Samsung has a grievance mechanism accessible to both workers and external stakeholders to raise human rights concerns and complaints.

Samsung publicly commits to respecting worker health and safety, but it does not disclose quantitative health and safety information, such as the rate of high-consequence work-related injuries. The company is also not explicit in stating that it does not require workers to work more than the regular and overtime hours. However, it does place this requirement on its business relationships. Samsung describes how it determines a living wage for workers in the regions where it operates, but it does not disclose whether it already pays all its workers a living wage. Furthermore, the company does not disclose a target to pay all workers a living wage by a certain date. The company has an opportunity to publicly commit to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, setting time-bound targets on the topic and disclosing its global gender pay scale. In relation to workforce diversity, the company provides a breakdown of employees in different employee categories by gender. However, it can also disclose employee breakdowns against other indicators of diversity, such as age group.

Samsung mentions its approach to prohibiting bribery and corruption in its annual report, and it includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its business relationship contracts. However, it can strengthen this commitment by including these statements in a policy document. Further, the company has a tax strategy which is limited in scope to its UK operations. It also does not disclose its income tax payments in individual tax jurisdictions. Moreover, the company does not disclose its overarching approach to lobbying and political engagement in a publicly available policy document.