CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ Signatories Gather to Take Actionable Steps Toward Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace
Today, 70 leading corporate and academic signatories of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ (CEO Action) convened for an inaugural closed-door discussion. The session was designed for CEOs to identify short and long-term actions that the business community can achieve within their own organizations and as a collective coalition to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace.
“This work is vital because our employees, communities and college campuses are continuing to face complex and escalating issues. We are committed to ensuring that our organizations can make positive and sustainable differences in the areas of diversity and inclusion. The only way to do that is to have the difficult conversations that address our differences and learn how to do this work together,” said PwC Senior Partner and U.S. Chairman Tim Ryan, chair of the CEO Action Steering Committee.
At the closed-door session, signatories discussed advancing the diversity and inclusion agenda with a focus on key issues around gender, race, and measuring impact. They also strategized how to implement actions within the CEO Action pledge collectively and within their own organizations. The CEOs will continue to communicate effective programming and measurement practices to strengthen commitments and serve employees and society as a whole better.
The coalition also announced the formation of the CEO Action President’s Circle to help translate the CEO Action pledge into actions that engage students, faculty and administration around diversity and inclusion to drive lasting change for the future workforce at college campuses across the country.
“Today’s leaders in higher education are uniquely positioned to contribute to the nation’s ongoing conversation around diversity and inclusion. Presidents of colleges, universities, and higher education associations oversee wide-ranging scholarship and campus initiatives, lead a diverse workforce, and have real-time access to the voices and perspectives of today’s student,” said University of San Francisco President Paul J. Fitzgerald, S.J. “I look forward to working with members of the President’s Circle, who have committed themselves and their institutions to this essential work, joining with more than 330 CEOs of the world’s leading companies and business organizations to advance diversity and inclusive excellence in the workplace.”
Comprised of presidents from academic institutions and associations, the CEO Action President’s Circle builds upon recent campus-focused engagements, including the “Check Your Blind Spots” campus tour which focused on bringing students an interactive and engaging experience about diversity and inclusion.
Signatories participating in the President’s Circle include: University of San Francisco (chair), AACSB International, Bentley University, Binghamton University, Lehigh University, Miami University of Ohio, National HBCU Deans Roundtable, Oregon State University, University of Dayton and Xavier University of Louisiana.
Companies represented by their CEO at the closed-door discussion include: AACSB International, Accenture, Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering, Asian American Business Development Center, Bashen Corporation, Bentley University, Career Communications Group, Inc., Carnival Corporation & plc, Catalyst, CNA, CSAA Insurance Group, Deloitte, DentaQuest, Discovery Education, DiversityInc, Edelman, Engility, Equilar, EY, Fannie Mae, Feeding America, Flagstar Bank, General Atlantic, Great Place to Work, HARMAN, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, Holland America Line, HSBC, Huntington Bank, IKEA US, Information Technology Senior Management Forum, INROADS, Inc., Institute for Corporate Productivity, Jackson Lewis P.C., K12, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, L’Oréal USA, Latham & Watkins LLP, Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP), Lehigh University, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Macy’s, Marsh & McLennan Companies, MDC Partners, Miami University, Minor League Baseball, Moody’s, National Center for Women & Information Technology, National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, Network of Executive Women, New York Life, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Perdue Farms, Porter Novelli, PPL Corp, Procter & Gamble, Publicis Groupe, PwC, QVC, Ralph Lauren Corporation, RRD, SEO, Tanenbaum, Tapestry, Inc., The Bozzuto Group, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., The Executive Leadership Council, The Hartford, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Tufts Health Plan, Welbilt, Inc.
