“When we founded CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion in 2017, our focus was on advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces. However, with the tragic murder of George Floyd in 2020, we recognized the need to expand our sphere of influence and take action both within and outside the four walls of our organizations. We recognized the important role the business community can play in supporting policies — at the federal, state and local levels — that advance racial equity, address social injustice and improve societal well-being. This is why, in October 2020, 100+ companies came together to launch CEO Action for Racial Equity, a first-of-its-kind initiative that mobilizes talent and resources from across Corporate America.”
– Tim Ryan, PwC US Chairman and CEO Action for D&I Steering Committee head
Our Strategic Foundation
Five areas underpin our success to date. Going forward, we will rely on these areas for a solid and enduring foundation.
Executing our Portfolio
- Our portfolio amplifies the interdependencies that exist between our public policy, corporate engagement, and focus areas.
- Our portfolio creates space for meaningful and sustainable action with increased stakeholder alignment and collaboration across multiple areas.
Building our Brand
We built positive brand recognition, both locally and nationally, with policymakers and key organizations across the political spectrum and the corporate engagement eco-system.
Leveraging Our Superpower: Signatories + Fellows
Dedicated and committed, we leverage the collective “superpower” of our diverse signatories and talented Fellows to engage over 700 organizations to help us attain our mission.
Engaging Our Fellows in Meaningful Ways
Our Fellows, both active and alum, are the heart, soul, and backbone of the Fellowship. They experienced transformative growth, both from a skillset perspective and from the work itself. The work of the Fellowship does not stop. It has a multiplier effect that continues to extend into many facets of their lives – both personally and professionally.
Maintaining Our Data-driven Approach
Using data, research, and analytics, we established key performance indicators (KPIs) that track advocacy, education, and awareness.
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Our KPIs:
1. Reinforce the Fellowship’s brand as a data-driven organization that is underpinned by action.
2. Provide a common language for communication and measurement.
Our data-driven approach informed our tracking of successes and progress. They include:
1. Policy-related legislative and advocacy activities, including advocacy letters and written testimony.
2. Interactive educational sessions focused primarily on corporate engagement.
3. Targeted efforts to raise awareness and influence supportive action, including panel participation and event sponsorships.
A Local Approach
- The Fellowship influenced Oakland’s Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District study to include a racial equity lens to affordable housing and convinced the Oakland City Council to include the highly Black populated East Oakland area in the study.
- Our place-based, state, and civic engagement focus leverages long-standing community knowledge, expertise, and leadership to drive our relevant portfolio solutions at the grassroots level.
Education and Opportunity
- A Massachusetts Early Childhood Education bill – to be introduced in the 2023 legislative session – includes four out of five CEOARE racial equity priorities. They include loan forgiveness, grant funding and fairness, data collection, and implicit bias and cultural competency.
- 45 signatories committed to do more in the HBCU space, selecting 24 distinct HBCUs to work with and support programs.
Economic Empowerment
- 30 signatories aligned to a Business Diversity pledge, aspiring to increase equity for Black suppliers, create more access to capital and networks for Black suppliers, and develop growth and scale opportunities for Black suppliers.
- 18 signatories committed to review their hiring practices to be more equitable towards the justice involved communities, with four starting pilot programs and hiring from this untapped talent pool.
Healthy Communities
- CEOARE advocated for the USDA to close the food insecurity gap by reassessing and modernizing the benefit allocation formula used by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), resulting in a historic 27% increase in SNAP benefits.
- The 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act extended vital healthcare policies through 2024. The Fellowship successfully advocated to help avoid the “telehealth cliff,” where virtual care flexibilities were temporary and limited to the duration of the public health emergency.
Public Safety
- We released a report which provides a framework for accountability databases that could be a viable source for future local, state, and federal policy.
- To incentivize states to end the practice of debt-based driver’s license suspensions, CEOARE advocated for The Driving for Opportunity Act, which passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support and moved to the full U.S. Senate (October 2021).
What are our stakeholders saying?
As an organization who focuses on the opportunities for growth and advancement of Black Business Leaders and has a responsibility to participate in civic engagement, it is vitally important for us to collaborate with CEO Action for Racial Equity (CEOARE) who work on issues that disproportionately and systemically impact Black America. Their focus on Economic Empowerment, Education and Opportunities, Public Safety and Healthy Communities impacts our members in every step of their journey. We support the efforts of CEOARE and stand alongside the business community and other collaborators to improve the lives of Black America and society as a whole.
Guylaine Saint Juste, President & CEO, NABA, Inc.
It was really important to me that we were going to join organizations that were actually going to make a difference and not just talk. This project has made me optimistic that collectively if we join our voices and we collaborate we can actually make something happen and something specific.
Kristen Peck, CEO, Zoetis
Societal issues don’t just exist in a vacuum. They impact our cusomers, they impact our colleagues, and they impact our investors. I think that CEOs of every organization are on the hook here…Macy’s has chosen conversation over silence. And as part of our Mission Every One platform, we’ve chosen engagement over avoidance.
Jeff Gennette, Chairman and CEO, Macy’s, Inc.
As I reflect on the past two and a half years and what we’ve been able to accomplish together, I am tremendously proud. We activated our superpower – assembling a force of committed business executives and talented Fellows, along with the backing of their influential organizations. We built an innovative platform for action with focus areas determined by data, assessed by common sentiment, evaluated for sustainable impact, and amplified through networks.
Roy Weathers, CEO, CEO Action for Racial Equity; Vice Chair Policy and Societal Engagement, PwC
My team and I at the National Training Institute on Race and Equity (NTIRE) have thoroughly enjoyed working with CEO Action for Racial Equity in general and the Fellows in particular. Our trainings with the Fellows are highly engaging and we always appreciate hearing their diverse perspectives given the various roles, ranks, and demographics they represent. We look forward to exploring new possibilities and working with CEO Action for Racial Equity, the Fellowship program. It is imperative that corporate America not only continue but deepen their leadership and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Such leadership and commitment will both improve the bottom line and the state of our union.
Dr. Bryant Marks, Founder & Chief Equity Officer
Looking Ahead
We united with passion and purpose! We built a place where CEOs and their employees can come together to drive action for the betterment of society.
Feedback on our work from the business community, advisors and community leaders has been tremendous.
There is great excitement about the momentum built and admiration for our journey and achievements, thus far.
Going forward, we will continue to execute our public policy and corporate engagement strategies, hone our approach to areas of focus, grow our relationships, and expand our network of signatories and Fellows.
Through our actions, we will continue to help corporate America use its unique and impactful voice to drive actions that close disparities in the Black community and brings us all closer to racial equity.
Join Us and Take a Stand
Contact us to join our Fellowship community and amplify your efforts with those who are collectively seeking to make a societal difference.
Click here for a full list of companies who have joined us.
