The Columbus Dispatch

Cardinal Health announces new DE&I efforts

- Erica Thompson

Recognizin­g diversity, equity and inclusion as a business imperative, Cardinal Health is taking more steps to bring in talent from diverse background­s.

This week, the Dublin-based health care services company announced a comprehens­ive talent strategy that includes goals to increase representa­tion of ethnic minorities and women at the manager level and above by 2030. The strategy also includes leadership developmen­t programs to prepare diverse talent for advancemen­t, as well as a new initiative that ties diversity metrics to the company's incentive plans.

“We spent a large part of these last two years really listening and learning from many stakeholde­rs,” said Ola Snow, chief human resources officer at Cardinal Health, Ohio's largest company based on revenue.

“Everyone is expecting organizati­ons to really put a stake in the ground around progress. So, this was us continuing to lead the way and say that diversity, equity and inclusion do make organizati­ons better. When you have diverse voices around the table making decisions, and especially decisions in healthcare, you will get better results.”

Over the next nine years in the U.S., Cardinal Health will increase representa­tion of African American and Black employees to 11% (up from 5%), and representa­tion of Asian, Latinx, Indigenous and all other ethnically diverse groups to 23% (up from 17%). Globally, the company will increase representa­tion of women to 48% (up from 40%). All changes are focused at the manager level and above.

Currently, Cardinal Health's board of directors is 33% female and 17% ethnically diverse. Its executive committee is 42% female and 11% ethnically

diverse.

Haley Boehning, co-founder of Storyforge marketing agency, said she was impressed with Cardinal Health's decision to make its diversity goals public.

“You are are going to be held accountabl­e for those numbers by a whole host of stakeholde­rs,” said Boehning, who also co-founded the Columbus chapter of Conscious Capitalism, which helps leaders run their businesses in a more conscious way. “So, I applaud them for being intentiona­l about what they're trying to do. By putting it out in a press release, they're not just inviting us to keep them accountabl­e, they're actually requesting it.”

Boehning also credited Cardinal Health for its emphasis on the business case for diversity, which it supports by citing recent data.

For example, according to Mckinsey & Company, organizati­ons with ethnic diversity are 37% more likely to outperform less diverse organizati­ons. And organizati­ons with gender diversity are 25% more likely to outperform their counterpar­ts.

Cardinal Health also supports the Mckinsey & Company's work around the concept of the “broken rung,” which shows that women, especially Black women and women of color, are not promoted as often as men.

To address this challenge, Cardinal Health will partner with the Korn Ferry consulting firm to create a program to further develop ethnically diverse talent at the manager and director levels, and help underrepre­sented talent advance into the first levels of leadership.

Cardinal Health also is expanding its “Aspiring Leaders” program, which partners with consulting and training company Franklinco­vey to help prepare underrepre­sented supply chain leaders for management. In addition, Cardinal has expanded its diversity and inclusion metrics in its incentive plan at the director level and above, and in the equity plan at the senior vice president level and above.

Cardinal Health's efforts are part of an ongoing movement in the right direction for diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Devray Kirkland, chief diversity officer at Cardinal Health.

“I think there certainly has been a shift, and, in a lot of cases, an accelerati­on of things that companies are trying to do,” he said.

“For us, it was just a validation that the work that we're doing is the right work. We know that there are issues that still need to be addressed, and by no means are we saying that we're perfect, but we certainly are on a good trajectory. The magnitude of this space has really become apparent to a lot of companies, and they know they need to invest in it to be successful.” ethompson@dispatch.com @miss_ethompson

 ?? ADAM CAIRNS/COLUMBUS DISPATCH ?? Devray Kirkland has been the chief diversity officer and VP of diversity and inclusion for Cardinal Health in Dublin for the past four years.
ADAM CAIRNS/COLUMBUS DISPATCH Devray Kirkland has been the chief diversity officer and VP of diversity and inclusion for Cardinal Health in Dublin for the past four years.

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