Focused Initiatives

Consulting firm McKinsey & Co. reports that 53% of Fortune 500 companies now have a chief diversity officer or equivalent role. Executives from some top U.S. companies talk about their efforts.

AT&T Michelle Jordan, chief diversity officer

“We’re committed to a diverse workforce and supporting people entering AT&T from all walks of life who aspire to greater possibilities. Since 2020, we’ve been helping close the economic gap disproportionately impacting Black people without a four-year degree. We joined more than 30 companies in committing to OneTen, with the collective goal to hire 1 million Black Americans in family-sustaining jobs over the next 10 years. AT&T also collaborates with HBCUs to advance economic opportunity for young leaders. We launched a multiyear mentoring and workforce readiness initiative for HBCU students, along with committing to boost leadership development and recruit diverse talent.”

Liberty Mutual

Dawn Frazier-Bohnert, executive vice president and global diversity, equity and inclusion officer

“In 2020, we launched Eight Weeks of Action to Disrupt Racial Bias, an initiative aimed at providing employees with resources, virtual sessions and a discussion guide to help increase understanding across race and ethnicity. To truly support a diverse workforce, you need diversity, equity and inclusion all working in tandem. You can bring together a high-performing, diverse team, but without giving all employees

a sense of belonging and valuing their unique contributions, you’re not fully leveraging those diverse perspectives and talents.”

McDonald’s

Reginald J. Miller, vice president and global chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer

“McDonald’s is on a multiyear DEI journey to leverage our global scale to dismantle barriers and create economic opportunities across every part of the business – consumers, employees, suppliers, franchisees and beyond. We’ve set ambitious goals, and we’re proud of the progress we’ve made to date. But there is more work to be done as we continue working towards our global DEI ambition.”

Target

Kiera Fernandez, chief diversity and inclusion officer and senior vice president for HR

Target increased the amount it spent with Black-owned companies and suppliers and doubled the number of Black-owned brands on its shelves. It also launched Target Forward Founders, an accelerator program to help Blackowned and diverse businesses in their early stages increase their potential. The company established its Racial Equity Action and Change program with a goal of spending more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025.