The Digital Outsider: A Leadership Test in Corporate Stewardship
September 30, 2025
Older adults and low-income families don’t need charity; they need leaders who will close the digital divide wisely.
When companies look outward, they often see opportunity or risk—but too often they miss exclusion. In the rush to digital transformation, older adults and low-income families have become new outsiders. This is no longer just a moral issue—it’s a strategic one.
The question: can executive leadership champion digital equity without sacrificing performance-based equity or shareholder confidence? The answer is yes—and doing so can strengthen brand reputation, employee engagement, and community trust.
The Stakes of Digital Exclusion
The digital divide remains stubborn, particularly among older adults. Roughly 22 million Americans aged 65 and over do not have broadband access at home.1 More broadly, though 95 percent of U.S. adults report internet use, only 57 percent of households earning less than $30,000 have high-speed broadband.2 These gaps block access to telehealth, online worship, government services, employment, and social connection.
Meanwhile, older adults face additional barriers: 48 percent of internet users aged 65–74 and 66 percent of those 75+ admit they need help configuring devices.3 For many low-income families, the choice comes down to groceries or connectivity.
For corporations, the cost of exclusion is not negligible. An underserved population means a less prepared future workforce, fewer customers able to engage online, and reputational risks in an era of heightened stakeholder expectations around ESG (environmental, social, governance) performance.
The Corporate Opportunity (Without Sacrificing Performance-Based Equity)
Executive leaders may feel their hands are tied—performance incentives and dividends cannot be compromised. But they need not be. The following strategies leverage existing budgets and resources, not compensation structures:
Redirect CSR and marketing budgets strategically. Reallocate planned community investments into device subsidies, connectivity grants, or training programs.
Donate in-kind hardware and connectivity. Refurbished laptops, tablets, or mobile hotspots can flow through existing supply chains.
Activate skills-based volunteering. Allow paid hours for employees to teach older adults and families basic digital skills. Research shows that skills-based volunteering reduces risk and elevates reputation.4
Sponsor pilot programs with nonprofits. Fund device maintenance, training stipends, or staff facilitators through established partners.
Leadership, Legacy, and Competitive Edge
Executive leadership sets the tone. When leaders visibly commit to bridging the digital divide, they send a message to employees, customers, and communities: this company sees the full human landscape.
These efforts aren’t charity—they’re competitive strategy. Digitally literate communities become better markets and more stable workforces.
And brand trust functions like insurance: prior social investment buffers backlash when tough business decisions arise.5 This is where the C-suite, in particular, can set a lasting example.
A Call to Corporate Stewardship
The “digital outsider” need not remain outside. Executives must reframe responsibility not as a drain but as an extension of strategic investment. Using CSR budgets, in-kind gifts, staff resources, and nonprofit partnerships, companies can include older adults and low-income households in the digital future—while safeguarding performance-based equity and sustaining shareholder confidence.
The invitation is not to sacrifice incentives, but to elevate purpose. The most enduring legacy may not be revenue growth alone, but a corporate name synonymous with bridging the gap in a digital world.
Footnotes
Pew Research Center, “Voices from America’s Digital Divide,” July 24, 2024.
Pew Research Center, “Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet,” January 2024.
Pew Research Center, “Tech Adoption Climbs Among Older Adults,” April 2019.
Shelly McCallum et al., CSR: A Case for Employee Skills-Based Volunteering (concept paper, 2016).
Danae Arroyos-Calvera and Nattavudh Powdthavee, “Reputation as Insurance: How Reputation Moderates Public Backlash Following a Company’s Decision to Profiteer,” arXiv preprint (2022).
#DigitalEquity #CorporateLeadership #SocialImpact #Inclusion #FutureOfWork