
4 Ways Top Companies are Leading the Movement for Diversity & Inclusivity – Now It’s Your Turn
The protests in 2020 around racial inequality set off a cultural sea change. This change included many companies taking the lead with respect to making real change.
The companies that made commitments to diversity and equality are all the more impressive because it was done amid a global pandemic. Consider the following top companies ‘ examples if your company is looking to step up its commitments to diversity and equality.
4 Great Examples of Diversity and Equality Initiatives
1) Merck, GM and Others Pledging to Hire 1 Million Black People Over a Decade
In December 2020, a corporate group that includes Merck and General Motors pledged $100 million to hire 1 million Black employees over the next ten years. Dubbed the OneTen initiative, the group is devoted to hiring Black workers without a four-year university degree. The aim is to give “family-sustaining” work that pays approximately $50,000 per year.
2) Pinterest Announces Adoption of Workplace Diversity Culture Recommendations
According to a post on the company’s official blog, Pinterest has announced a commitment to diversity and inclusion advice it recently received from a special committee on the subject. The committee was established earlier in June 2020, soon after two former workers made public allegations of gender and racial discrimination against the company.
As part of its efforts, the committee retained a law firm to perform a review. The review included talking with at least 350 current and past staff members. The committee’s recommendations aimed to boost diversity and inclusion at Pinterest.
3) Starbucks Links Executive Pay to Diversity Goals
In October 2020, Starbucks stated it would require anti-bias training for executives and link their remuneration to improving minority representation in the company labor force.
The coffee company stated it would strive for a minimum of 30 percent of its US-based corporate employees and 40 percent of its US-based retail and manufacturing staff to be people of color within five years. The company’s data show it presently does not meet those goals. Currently, they are missing the mark in 9 of the 14 job levels that the initiative has targeted. Starbucks has approximately 200,000 staff members based in the US and almost 8,900 company-owned stores in the country.
4) Salesforce Pledges to Double Its Number of US-based Black Leaders by 2023
In July, Salesforce stated intentions to double the number of Black workers in US-based company leadership positions by 2024 and boost overall representation of Black workers by 50 percent within the same timeframe.
Salesforce also pledged $100 million toward supporting Black-owned companies across the next three years. Additionally, they committed a 25 percent year-over-year increase in spending with minority-owned companies. Furthermore, the company made public commitments to working with Black-owned manufacturers and service providers.
We Can Help You Meet Your Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
At ZDA, we coordinate with many of our clients to help them become more diverse and inclusive in their operations. Please contact us today to find out how we can do the same for your organization.