One year ago, the Business Roundtable announced corporate initiatives and public policy recommendations focused on addressing the racial wealth gap. Business Roundtable members have taken significant steps to deploy resources and implement organizational changes to advance broader economic opportunity in America.
To better understand this progress, Business Roundtable conducted in-depth interviews with member companies across a range of economic sectors.
Member companies have made long-term commitments to racial equity. CEOs, other C-Suite leaders and heads of business units are major champions for and lead from the top on racial equity and justice efforts. This sustained investment of time and attention by member company leaders has been cited as important role modeling and drove employee action at all levels of the company (e.g., employee resource groups mobilizing to shape and facilitate commitments). To ensure continued attention over the long run, senior executives are also implementing equity initiatives, including racial equity and justice-related measurements, in performance reviews of team leaders and other supervisors to drive progress consistent with other strategic objectives. For example, a leading consumer product company has woven their racial equity efforts into each of the key performance indicators for performance reviews.
For many years, companies have had dedicated staff whose roles and functions focused on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) across their organizations. In late 2020 and into 2021, member companies have redoubled their commitments to building diverse and inclusive workplaces by expanding support and adding additional capacity to DE&I teams.
Over the last year, Chief Diversity Officer roles have become standard and are becoming better supported by robust teams dedicated to advancing racial equity commitments internally and engaging in active public policy advocacy and partnership efforts externally. The DE&I-focused teams are also working with larger and more inclusive affinity and employee resource groups to shape the focus of racial equity and justice efforts. This maturing of well-structured and permanent DE&I functions ensures that current focus on racial equity and inclusion efforts will not wane.
Members diversified their third-party partner bases by engaging minority-owned vendors and other partners to create more diverse and inclusive supply chains. For some of these minority-owned third parties that may not yet have the scale or capacity to serve large enterprise customers, member companies are going a step further and creating solutions to support these smaller firms’ growth and development. This has included helping small business vendors raise and access the capital necessary to scale, connecting them with other willing partners in the member company ecosystem, giving diversity-based preference or set-asides for certain contract types, advancing favorable payment terms, and providing technical and operational training and capability-building. Member efforts in these areas are demonstrating a permanent shift in their approach to supply chain diversity, with a focus on providing support, investments, and incentives that are aligned with members’ long-term goals.
To align with and help advance the longstanding efforts of community leaders and place-based social justice organizations, member companies are partnering with racial equity and justice organizations in the cities and geographies in which they operate. This offers an important opportunity to both continue learning from and support those organizations focused on driving impact “on the ground” based on the specific needs of a given community. Some companies have applied this perspective to their market expansion strategies by considering underserved and/or majority Black communities for new operations, which can enable employment opportunities for talented local candidates and boost local economies.
Member companies are integrating their internal equity efforts into core business operations, such as product development and operations. For instance, in product development, member companies are doubling down on efforts to ensure products are inclusive. They are investing time to better understand the implications and impact of their products, services and capabilities on specific minority groups to make them both more relevant and more accessible. In operations, member companies that provide banking services are focusing on meeting diverse customer populations with different approaches and channels to best connect with customers who may previously have had difficulty accessing products and services.
Member companies are investing tremendous time and attention across their full talent management lifecycle, from initial attraction and hiring to training and sponsorship for advancement. They are focused on recruiting and hiring more underrepresented minorities than ever before, across all business functions, including senior leadership roles. These efforts have led to official partnerships with HBCUs, other minority serving institutions and state schools to access a direct pipeline of diverse and talented candidates. Some are identifying and supporting students of color in high schools, as well, by offering opportunities and access to resources students may not have had in the past (e.g., STEM programs). For existing employees, member companies are creating mentoring programs and focusing on upskilling and creating opportunities for employees of color to take on managerial positions.
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, high unemployment and nationwide unrest over the continued killings of unarmed Black men and women, 2020 was a year of unprecedented challenges that laid bare the systemic racial inequities that, despite progress over generations, have persisted and prevented many Americans from fully realizing opportunity and justice in America.
In response, Business Roundtable Chairman Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart, convened member CEOs in June 2020 and established a Special Committee on Racial Equity and Justice. Business Roundtable CEOs immediately took action, beginning by advocating for bipartisan policing reform legislation.
Business Roundtable CEOs then turned to an issue central to fairness and equity in our economy — the racial wealth gap. After consulting with over 100 experts from across the ideological spectrum to understand the key policy considerations around closing the gaps in economic opportunity for people of color, Business Roundtable CEOs released a set of policy recommendations and corporate commitments in October 2020 that address racial disparities in education, employment, finance, health, housing and the justice systems.
One year later, Business Roundtable CEOs continue to advocate on public policy recommendations to address the racial wealth gap. They have also taken significant steps within their own companies by deploying funds, establishing new organizational policies and practices, developing and expanding partnerships, and increasing their workforce and supplier diversity — all with a goal to create lasting change. They recognize that while they have made meaningful progress, there is still more work to be done.
“It is clear that equity in education and quality childcare are two critical components to ensuring a successful future from students of color. And we know that a diverse and inclusive workplace is also crucial to business success. It creates a strong workforce and promotes fresh, innovative thinking. As business leaders, we are collectively opening new paths to jobs and career advancement by reviewing our hiring and promoting practices. We support policy actions that ease student debt burdens, increase access to high quality and affordable pre-K and K-12 education, and increase federal support for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.”
Mary Barra
Chair and Chief Executive Officer, General Motors Company
Chair, Business Roundtable Education and Workforce Committee
“Far too many Americans are limited in their prospects for employment and upward mobility because they have a criminal record, even though they may be qualified for a job. As business leaders, it is incumbent upon us to remove barriers to employment and advancement by allowing individuals with criminal records to fairly compete for job opportunities.”
Craig Arnold
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eaton
Chair, Business Roundtable Racial Equity and Justice Subcommittee on Equitable Justice
“Building a more diverse and inclusive environment is the promise we make to each other, and something all of us strive to carry out each day. The commitment we embrace at Johnson & Johnson is shared by the CEOs of the Business Roundtable.”
Alex Gorsky
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Johnson & Johnson
Chair, Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee
"In response to an increased need for small business support in 2020, we committed and exceeded $250 million in new capital to CDFIs to provide them with the liquidity needed to make Paycheck Protection Program loans to their clients, along with $10 million in grants to help with CDFI operations. We recognize that our work with CDFIs is crucial to our ability to provide access to capital for thousands of individuals and small businesses who are the backbone of our local communities."
Brian Moynihan
Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
“The health and well-being of individuals are vital for healthy communities, companies and economies. When disparities exist, it shows we have more work to do on behalf of our society. Businesses are uniquely positioned to lead the way by expanding and accelerating programs to advance health equity and drive cultural change, in close collaboration with our communities, educators, non-profits and policymakers.”
David Cordani
President and Chief Executive Officer, Cigna Corporation
“Lilly is committed to fighting racial injustice and enhancing equity, as well as creating more meaningful economic opportunities for Black Americans. We’ve made progress over the past year, which includes increasing our spend with Black businesses by 50 percent. To help increase African American representation within Lilly, we’ve enhanced employee development programs through an equity lens and bolstered recruiting efforts aimed at Black and other communities – adding several new HBCU recruiting programs, establishing apprenticeship mentorship programs, and eliminating the bachelor’s degree requirement for some jobs. There’s a lot of work still ahead, but we remain committed to leading change in our company, the communities where we live, and the lives of the patients we serve.”
David Ricks
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Lilly and Company
“Our country was founded on the core tenants of equality, freedom, justice, and liberty for all, and we, as Americans, are continually striving to fulfill these promises. At Vistra, we want our company to work equitably for our team members, our customers, and the communities we serve. We applaud and wholeheartedly endorse the efforts of the Business Roundtable to establish initiatives to address racial equity and justice. We cannot be the country or the companies we aspire to be without the collective commitments and efforts from the business community.”
Curt Morgan
President and Chief Executive Officer, Vistra Corp.
"As a company, we took the period of racial unrest in 2020 very seriously because we saw it as an opportunity to take a stand and deal with the issue of racial injustice in a proactive way. We wanted to do more to leverage our 178-year legacy as a leading global diversified industrial to be an economic growth engine for people of color. "
Jim Loree
Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Black & Decker
"While we can't control what happens in the world, we can - and should - always strive to influence and change it for the better. That is the underlying premise of our purpose, and within PwC and the communities in which we live and work, we are committed to fostering an environment that stands for inclusion and equality, and that allows people of all backgrounds to thrive and succeed."
Bob Moritz
Global Chairman, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited
“We strive to advance the pursuit of racial equity through our clients holistically – ensuring a racial equity lens is considered across their external, organizational and philanthropic strategic priorities. This is an often overlooked area where corporations can deliver an outsized impact.”
Christoph Schweizer
Chief Executive Officer, Boston Consulting Group
Anthem embeds cultural humility in their service delivery through their “My Diverse Patients” platform. This platform is tailored for providers and features robust educational resources to support providers in addressing health disparities that impact their patients. This educational platform is intended to help providers better understand the unique experiences of their diverse patient populations and equip providers to be their patients’ trusted health care partners. Research suggests that cultural humility improves patient satisfaction, healthcare adherence, and health outcomes.
Cigna advocates for addressing whole-person health, including physical, emotional, financial, social and environmental factors. Cigna developed a proprietary Social Determinants Index (SDI) that characterizes a community for social determinants of health (SDOH) at the census tract level in the United States. The SDI was built to understand the potential health disadvantages an individual may experience based on their geographic residence. The SDI provides valuable data that is supporting our efforts in partnering across the entire health system to identify and address social determinant factors which fall outside of traditional healthcare. Cigna is using the SDI to:
To address housing insecurities and promote community health improvement in vulnerable populations, CVS Health invested over $114 million in affordable housing in 2020. The company's investments will lead to the construction and rehabilitation of more than 2,800 affordable housing units in 30 cities, across 12 states. Working closely with community organizations to provide affordable housing options and services to people facing significant challenges. As a result of the company's affordable housing investment strategy, over 460 permanent supportive housing (PSH) units will be constructed to provide stable homes for people who may be experiencing homelessness, affected by chronic illness, victims of domestic violence, in need of behavioral health or addiction treatment, or are challenged by similar life and health situations. In addition to affordable housing, these PSH residents will also receive access to a wide range of services to stabilize and improve their health including social, behavioral health and addiction recovery services.
CVS Health also established a five-year, $5 million scholarship, in partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), specifically for Black and Latinx students who are pursuing academic careers in healthcare.
The Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), in partnership with Medtronic developed a first of its kind, multi-year partnership to build and foster stronger relationships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and diversify the pipeline of STEM talent for both Medtronic as well as the broader MedTech industry. The partnership consists of two tracks: the Medtronic Foundation Scholars Program and the Medtronic | TMCF Internship Program.
The Medtronic Foundation Scholars Program provides scholarship support to students attending HBCUs from first-year students through doctoral studies. To achieve true impact, the partnership realized that it was not enough to provide scholarship support—they needed to create programming that would not only support students holistically through their academic studies through scholarships, but also provide them with real work experience that would prepare them for future technical careers within the medical technology industry. The combination of the Scholars Program and Internship Program provides these opportunities for HBCU students.
The Medtronic | TMCF Internship Program focuses on career development through 10-week internship assignments, prepares our HBCU Scholars for increased impact at Medtronic, and creates conversion opportunities for these students to thrive in an entry-level capacity, post-graduation. While the opportunity is open to all TMCF member-schools, Medtronic has focused its capacity building efforts beyond the internship program at 5 HBCUs: Alabama A&M University, Florida A&M University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University and Tuskegee University. All interns participate in a robust, pre-internship professional bootcamp that focuses on teaching various business acumen and culture processes skills to ensure the students are ready to thrive within Medtronic during the summer. In addition to the direct career experiences through the Medtronic | TMCF Internship Program, TMCF tracks students’ progress during the summer and provides ad hoc developmental opportunities and guidance to ensure their continued success and growth.
The partnership with Medtronic is another way that TMCF is closing the technical development gap within the African American community by ensuring our HBCU students are primed and focused on success within the MedTech industry—true impact at work.
Business Roundtable CEOs are committed to advancing racial equity and justice through thoughtful action.
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