Global Leaders in Diversity: 7 Companies Going Big on Inclusion and Equality
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I. Introduction
Every one of us belongs to some community we identify with and feel proud about. But the world sometimes makes it hard for us to associate ourselves with this identity and so we hide it in most places we go, the workplace is one of them. One would like to not do it, but a person’s capabilities being tested based on what community or identity they belong to often makes interviewees hide it. Companies promoting equality have diversity and inclusion policies but to be actively implementing them is the need of the hour. After all, a diverse and inclusive workplace earns deeper trust and more commitment from their employees.
In this article, we look at seven companies that have become global leaders in not only their respective market fields but also in hiring and being inclusive of diverse communities.
The importance of highlighting these companies comes from the growing needs of the growing population to have a representation for themselves in all kinds of fields.
II. Company 1: Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson believes in good health as the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. For more than 135 years, the company has aimed to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. The company stands as the world’s largest and most diversified healthcare products company with its initiative to make access and affordability of good health within reach of everyone.
Johnson & Johnson has ensured that all employees help create an inclusive environment. The company’s inclusion vision is “for every person to use their unique experiences, abilities and backgrounds, together – to spark solutions that create a better, healthier world.” It has 12 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) which help in connecting and engaging employees across the company to develop their potential, build relationship capital and drive an inclusive environment and culture. By 2025, the company also aims to have 50% women in management globally. In America, the company is targeting to have 35% racial diversity in management positions.
The CEO and Chairman of Johnson & Johnson together with the Chief Diversity Officer are accountable for overseeing the whole organisation. The organisation has achieved several honours and accolades, including being named one of the “Best of the Best” for diversity initiatives by U.S. Veterans Magazine and is one of just two organisations to have spent the past 28 years on the Working Mother 100 Best list.
III. Company 2: MasterCard
Mastercard works to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. The company’s decency quotient or DQ drives its culture and everything it does within and outside the company.
Mastercard has nine business resource groups (BRGs) where employees come together based on similar interests or experiences and a shared passion for inclusion. Each group also promotes the inclusion of all, represents diverse communities and focuses on topics of intersectionality and well-being. As of 2021, women earn $1.00 for every $1.00 that men earn, and the same is true for people of colour. 81% of final candidate interviews include women.
Additionally, Mastercard provides useful employee perks including aid with surrogacy and reimbursement for sex reassignment surgery.
For many in the LGBTQIA+ community, the name on their credit, debit or prepaid card does not reflect their true identity, causing painful daily reminders of a conflict between their true name and the name on their card. In 2019, the company worked to ease this pain point by creating True Name, a first-of-its-kind feature that makes secure payments truly safe for all.
Also Read: Diversity Hiring in the Modern Workplace: Trends and Insights
IV. Company 3: Accenture
Accenture provides innovative and comprehensive services and solutions that span cloud; systems integration and application management; security; intelligent platform services; infrastructure services; software engineering services; data and artificial intelligence; and global delivery through our Advanced Technology Centers.
The Company has a strong commitment to creating a culture of belonging and equity while strongly advocating for flexible working and talent development. It is also committed to paying that is equal when considering the similarity of work, location, and tenure at the career level.
It strives to have gender equality, disability inclusion, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, ethnic and racial inclusion, etc. it has 120,000 Pride allies across all the countries it operates, and is increasing accessibility with 32 global centres established where disabled talent can get tools, technology, and support to be successful in their roles.
V. Company 4:General Motors
General Motors is a multinational automotive manufacturing company. By sales, it was the largest automaker in the US in 2022 and the largest in the world for 77 years before losing its spot to Toyota.
At General Motors, they recognize that the world and their company must evolve toward a more equitable future. They believe that their company stands for more than just the products they build and sell, and are focusing on standing for the dignity of people, justice, tolerance, and inclusion. GM also pledged $10 million to support organisations promoting racial justice and inclusion. The initial $1 million has been allocated for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the remaining $9 million will be donated to organisations guided by our Employee Resource Groups.
General Motors Chairman and CEO, Mary Barra, also joined nine other corporate and community leaders at Detroit City Hall to declare uncompromising support for equal justice for every American.On June 19, 2020, they recognized and celebrated Juneteenth, by observing 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence to honour George Floyd’s memory, as well as other Black Americans who lost their lives for nothing more than the colour of their skin.
VI. Company 5: Salesforce
Founded in 1999, Salesforce is a cloud-based software company which provides customer relationship management software focused on sales, customer service, analytics and application development.
As a global diversity leader, to end violence against communities and different races, salesforce has launched “Racial Equality and Justice Task Force” to help drive systemic change within the workplace and community. They also invited employees from across the business as well as leaders of Black employee resource groups to help them forge their vision. they are making a new commitment to increase their U.S. representation of Black employees by 50% by the end of 2023.Salesforce will work with urgency to advance laws that protect against racism or discrimination.
Salesforce continues to mitigate bias in AI and in their products as well as empower others to do the same through Trailhead.
VII. Company 6: Microsoft
Microsoft is a technology corporation best known for software products like the Windows line of operating systems. It was ranked the world’s largest software maker by revenue as of 2022 and is often considered as the big five American IT companies alongside Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta Platforms.
The company has added new dimensions of self identification, representation of employees with military status, workforce exit data and additional pay data to show transparency. Increasing employees’ options to be more specific about their racial and ethnic identities helps us gather more actionable data, and we’ve heard from employees that having these options can help people feel more seen and included in the workplace.
According to its 2022 Diversity and Inclusion Report, women make up more than 30% of Microsoft’s core. The company also strives for pay equity. It also has 53.2% of employees from racial and ethnic minority communities.
Microft also offers a choice to identify based on their sexual orientation, gender identity (including options beyond binary gender terms), and/or as transgender in 28 countries including the US.
VIII. Company 7: Amazon
Jeff Bezos’s empire Amazon is a multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital steaming and artificial intelligence.
Amazon is committed to building a community that supports employees and customers with mental and physical disabilities. Every year, as part of its Global Accessibility Awareness Month, it provides accessibility customer experience labs throughout the company.
They have also partnered on customer facing initiatives such as talking lockers and Tap for Alexa programs. It actively takes part in outreach to increase the number of young women entering STEM fields.
Diversity, equity and inclusion is where we have seen Amazon improve both in transparency and in results.Amazon doubled the representation of Black directors and vice presidents, launched inclusion training companywide and removed racially insensitive language in its tech documentation.
IX. Conclusion
From the seven companies we read about, we can see how different companies in different fields of market strive to be diverse and inclusive. Inclusive companies not only expand their arena in terms of hiring but also in their target audience. Products and features are made keeping in mind a wider range of audience. Their efforts have had a positive impact on the society and the business. Diverse and Inclusive organisations also help people from different communities feel encouraged to apply for jobs and also have a chance of securing the position. Although many times, diversity and inclusion policies make feel jut for namesake but through the example of these seven companies we can see that it is not just a concept but a real life implementation to foster unity in diversity.
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