One month ago, the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion was launched with 175 CEOs. Now, nearly 100 additional CEOs have joined them, pledging themselves and their organizations to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Coming from a variety of fields, including business, non-profit, and academia, the leaders are joining together to learn how best to cultivate welcoming, collaborative, and thriving environments for their employees. The group of nearly 300 signatories have shared hundreds of actions that they are taking to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Making use of the initiative’s unified hub, CEOAction.com, they are exchanging learning opportunities and creating collaborative conversations regarding a number of categories – from supplier diversity and succession planning to mentorship and recruitment.
Organizations joining the pledge are taking a step towards effecting positive change in the workplace as research has shown that a diverse and inclusive workforce not only facilitates community, but also drives innovation and creativity. According to a 2011 Forbes study, 85 percent of surveyed executives reported that diversity is a key component to fostering innovation.
Tim Ryan, U.S. chairman and senior partner of PwC and chair of the steering committee for the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, said he was proud of the growing momentum and support for the initiative across companies, industries, and regions. “This collaboration expands our reach and brings in unique values, actions, and perspectives to continue to raise the bar for the entire business community,” stated Ryan. “The overwhelming support for the coalition has been amazing to see and with each and every new organization signing on, we have the opportunity to put our commitments into action by working together to improve diversity and inclusion in our workplaces and communities.”
The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion welcomes all different kinds of voices and perspectives to foster knowledge sharing and greater collective contributions. As the initiative continues to expand, the impact and reach of companies, workforces, and communities will grow as well. At the moment, the coalition represents 70 industries, all 50 U.S. states, and millions of employees around the globe.
Here is what some members of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion steering committee have said about the initiative:
Accenture North America CEO Julie Sweet
As every industry faces disruption, continuing to recognize the importance of inclusion and diversity – building on our collective experience, both successes and failures — will help fuel the competitiveness of both our companies and our country.
BCG Senior Partner and Managing Director Joe Davis
With each new signatory that joins the coalition, our group is able to reach a new community, workforce and industry. Adding nearly 100 companies to our group shows that CEOs are looking at advancing diversity and inclusion not from a competitive standpoint, but rather, a collaborative effort to tackle this for all organizations.
Deloitte US CEO Cathy Engelbert
In today’s world, it’s more important than ever that we focus on diversity and inclusion. It’s encouraging, and vital, that we’re seeing a large number of companies joining CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ and making a commitment on collaborating to move this forward. We’ve made progress, but there’s also much more work to be done.
General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford
The overwhelming outpour of support for the coalition has been amazing to see. I am energized for what’s to come and to make an even greater impact on our workforces and the communities we serve.
P&G Chairman of the Board, President and CEO David Taylor
We have a proud and growing coalition of CEOs that is leading the conversation to advocate for action that drives progress. I am thrilled by shared conversations the coalition has had to date and am looking forward for the Summit to continue to address these challenges head on.
Building on the energy from the launch, the signatories will convene for the first-ever 2017 CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Summit in November. At the Summit, longer-term growth strategies to advance the agenda will be discussed, pledge commitments will be acted on, best known actions will be shared, and additional commitments will be developed.
To learn more about the pledge and how you can get involved, visit CEOAction.com.
Danita Evangeline for TechFunnel.com
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