Together We must Amplify black leadership
We are reckoning with a reality that is not new…far from it. For too long, Black lives, Black joy and Black futures have stifled under the weight of systemic racism. this summer, the CocaCola Company met the magnitude of a cultural turning point. We listened to our black employees, whose sense of personal safety and belonging was eroding. We listened to our community leaders and social justice advocates, whose hope in the private sector as an ally was waning. our path forward to a better, more just and equitable future is illuminated by Black leadership. it anchors the Coca-Cola Company’s approach to meaningful advocacy – where our words and our actions align – so our business and world can emerge stronger. our growth is guided by the resiliency and vision of Black leaders like Lori george Billingsley, global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, and Valerie R. Love, Senior Vice President of Human resources and social Justice executive Chair for Coca-Cola north America. We will sustain our growth by strengthening our Black leadership talent pipeline – amplifying the voices of Black leadership from every level of our organization and accelerating their professional advancement. Coca-Cola’s social justice work underway today is charting a bold path for the future of our business – with a level of empowerment, agility, energy and commitment unprecedented in our company history. Fragmented tactics will not create the systemic change that is desperately needed. our strategy to listen, lead, invest and advocate mobilizes our legacy of advancing civil rights and rallies the strength of our employees to make our vision a reality. together, we must amplify Black leadership on this journey.
“Diversity and inclusion is more than a commitment. It’s how we define ourselves and who we aspire to be at AIG. We believe in having an inclusive company culture that respects all, listens to all and benefits from the diversity of our colleagues.” brIAN DUPErrEAULt Chief Executive Officer
At AIG, the diversity of our people is one of our greatest strengths and sources of pride. By bringing their full, authentic selves to work each day, our colleagues show us how to better understand our clients, increase innovation and reduce risk. that’s why, as part of our strategic vision, we are focused on fostering a culture of inclusion that is designed to attract, develop and retain diverse talent. our commitment starts at the very top: Aig Ceo Brian duperreault is a signatory to Ceo Action for diversity & inclusion, and he has personally championed one of our most successful diversity & inclusion programs, the employee resource groups (ergs). our ergs represent areas of focus that are important to our employees and clients, such as gender equality and identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, faith, diverse abilities, generational differences and military experience. more than 11,000 Aig employees actively participate in one or more of the 145+ ergs around the world. sometimes more immediate action is needed. Amid protests over social injustice in the united states and around the world earlier this year, Aig granted additional volunteer time off to employees who wanted to support their communities and promote diversity, understanding and equality in our society. in recognition of these initiatives—as well as our commitment to talent recruitment and development, leadership accountability, and supplier diversity—Aig has been named to the 2020 diversityinc top 50 Companies for diversity for the third straight year as well as the Human rights Campaign’s “Best Places to Work for LgBtQ equality” for the ninth consecutive year. Aig’s executive Leadership team and Board continue to support and promote the strategic importance of our diversity, equality and inclusion efforts, and are deeply committed to a diverse workforce and a welcoming environment for everyone.
Finally, a nighttime panel discussion included CEO Ashby, nAACP Ceo Derrick Johnson, urban League Ceo Marc Morial, Black Enterprise Ceo Earl “butch” Graves, Jr., and Color of Change President rashad robinson, and was moderated by April ryan, author and Cnn correspondent. videos of all concurrent sessions and guests are available for attendees to watch on the eLC website for the rest of october. The first-ever Power of Women at Work (PoWW) took place virtually in september. PoWW gathered more than 300 women business and thought leaders for panels, workshops, and Q&A sessions on workplace authenticity, identifying and navigating bias, and mitigating the effects of gender and race inequity. the foundation for this one-day program was Being Black in Corporate America, a study by Coqual formerly Cti. the speakers were all stellar business professionals, each representing different industries: Minda harts, author of The Memo – What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table; Julia taylor Kennedy, executive vice president and co-author of the Coqual study; Charlotte Jones-burton, m.d., co-founder of Women of Color in Pharma and a vice president at otsuka Pharmaceuticals; Aisha bowe, an aerospace engineer and co-founder and Ceo of stemBoard; trudy bourgeois, founder and Ceo of the Center for Workforce excellence; and Melissa butler, founder and Ceo of the Lip Bar, a vegan beauty brand.
2020 ELC/beta Iota boulé black Economic Forum
once again, the eLC, mcKinsey & Co., Beta iota Boulé, and the Beta iota Boulé Foundation hosted Black business, economic, non-profit and political leaders – virtually this time – for the 2020 Black economic Forum (BeF), to discuss the opportunities revealed in today’s twin pandemics: Covid-19 and racism. the focus of the more than 700 participants was evolving a Community of Action to accelerate Black socio-economic development. mcKinsey & Co. updated attendees to the alarming racial wealth gap (rWg) within the framework of current events, beginning with the estimated $1-1.5 trillion gdP loss to the us caused by the rWg. they also laid out a road map of considerations in establishing an effective Community of Action to tackle the complex socio-economic and policyrelated issues. Keynote speaker bruce Gordon, eLC member and director, northrop grumman, stated, “in companies with Blacks in their boardrooms – and speaking truth to power there – we’ve seen success.” the strategy now is to amplify the impact with a Community of Action. Honored guest ohio Congressmember Joyce beatty promised, “racism is a national crisis, and i will do everything in my power to identify strategies to close the wealth gap.”