More than 150 CEOs have signed onto an agreement to further workplace diversity and inclusion.
As part of the agreement, members of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion commit to taking the following steps, according to an announcement on the group's website:
- continue to cultivate workplaces that support open dialogue on complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about diversity and inclusion;
- implement and expand unconscious bias education; and
- share best known effective — and unsuccessful — actions.
Additional steps could eventually be added.
“We are living in a world of complex divisions and tensions that can have a significant impact on our work environment. Yet, it's often the case that when we walk into our workplace — where we spend the majority of our time — we don't openly address these topics,” said Tim Ryan, U.S. chairman and senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers and chairman of the steering committee for CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, in a news release from Legg Mason, another one of the group's signatories. “CEOs across the country understand this isn't a competitive issue, but a societal issue, and together we can raise the bar for the entire business community. By sharing best known actions and programs, we are helping to create a more inclusive environment that will encourage all of us to bring our greatest talents, perspectives and experiences to the workplace.”
Several money managers signed the agreement in addition to Legg Mason, including the leaders of Carlyle Group, Apollo Global Management, Ariel Investments, Prudential, TIAA-CREF and Bain Capital.
Other signatories include Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and CEO of AT&T Inc.; Brian Moynihan, chairman and CEO of Bank of America; Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Airlines Inc.; Andrew Liveris, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical Co.; Ed Breen, chairman and CEO of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; David A. Ricks, president, CEO and chairman of Eli Lilly & Co.; Christopher M. Crane, president and CEO of Exelon Corp; Jeff Harmening, CEO of General Mills Inc; Dion Weisler, president and CEO of HP Inc.; Ginni Rometty, chairwoman, president and CEO of International Business Machines Corp.; Irene Rosenfeld, chairwoman and CEO of Mondelez International Inc.; Jeffrey Jacobson, CEO of Xerox Corp.
Signatories will meet in the fall to discuss the program's progress and determine next steps.
