Companies that are serious about diversity and inclusion prove it every day — they proudly walk their talk. For the final article in this three-part series, I’ve rounded up a handful of companies that rock at diversity and inclusion.
See what makes Deloitte, Nike, Marsh & McClennan, Cisco and McAfee standouts in D&I, and how other companies can follow suit. And in case you missed it, check out Part 1 and Part 2 for more insights on diversity and inclusion.
Deloitte
Just one look at Deloitte’s C-suite, and it’s obvious that D&I is an important part of the company’s culture. Punit Renjen, who was born and raised in India, was named CEO of Deloitte Global in 2015. According to the company website, he is committed to advancing D&I at Deloitte. One of his objectives is to achieve gender balance across the company and among its leaders. That includes having Sharon Thorne as Chair of the Deloitte Global Board of Directors. She is a longtime supporter of Deloitte’s efforts to have more women in leadership.
Deloitte, an accounting and consulting firm based in New York City, employs more than 300,000 professionals in 150 countries. In 2018, the company was ranked 16th among the 100 best companies for diversity, and the 36th best place to work for women out of 75 large companies.
In 2017, Deloitte phased out diversity groups in favor of “inclusion councils” where all employees — particularly white men — are welcome.
“By having everyone in the room, you get more allies, advocates, and sponsors,” said Deepa Purushothaman, national director of Deloitte’s now-defunct Women’s Initiative group. “A lot of our leaders are still older white men, and they need to be part of the conversation and advocate for women. But they’re not going to do that as much if they don’t hear the stories and understand what that means,” she told Bloomberg.
Nike
Nike improved its representation of female and minority employees in fiscal year 2018, and the sportwear giant has pledged to do even more going forward — particularly across leadership. So far, so good. The company hired Tamika Curry Smith as Vice President of Global Diversity & Inclusion, a seasoned executive who led D&I initiatives at Mercedes-Benz USA and Target. And the company ended the year with 145 women VPs compared to 257 male VPs, which represents a 4 percent increase from the previous year, according to the company’s first FY18 Impact Report. VP-level representation of underrepresented groups also jumped 3 percentage points to 19 percent that year.
The company improved its diversity efforts through internal promotions, external hiring, retention-based objectives and educational programs. For example, Unconscious Bias Awareness training has been ongoing at Nike, and the company implemented a new training program called Manager Expectations: Living a Culture of Respect, Inclusion, and Accountability. More than 10,000 employees have participated in the required training thus far.
“We believe in the power of sport to move the world forward and that begins with our employees,” Nike said. “We’re committed to fostering a culture and environment of inclusion, empowerment and respect — a place where everyone can show up fully as themselves and do their best work every day.”
Marsh & McClennan
Marsh & McClennan, a leading professional services firm with over 65,000 colleagues in more than 130 countries, is also a pioneer in gender equality. The company is one of only 230 to land on Bloomberg’s inaugural Gender-Equality Index, which chose companies based on their commitment to transparency in gender reporting and advancing women’s equality in the workplace.
In 2018, 67 percent of promotions to Managing Director positions were women. And within the company’s UK Board of Directors, currently a quarter of the group are women (3 women and 9 men).
Marsh & McClennan developed several initiatives to support greater gender parity across the organization. The company strives every year to achieve a 50/50 gender parity goal in hiring, particularly among early-career professionals and apprentices. They also launched the Marsh Global Diversity Leadership Program, which focuses on developing LGBT as well as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic talent.
In 2017, the company was winner of the Diversity and Inclusion Excellence Awards, presented by the Insurance Times, and they are committed to doing more to reflect the communities they serve.
“Mutual respect, dignity, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our culture,” the company said. “Collaboration is the soul of our enterprise and diversity is a fundamental strategy. We succeed when we bring the widest range of people and views to the table, and without the insight, knowledge and skills of our colleagues there is no Marsh & McLennan Companies.”
Cisco
Technology giant Cisco also appeared on Bloomberg’s Gender-Equality Index, and the Silicon Valley-based company is working diligently to accelerate and promote diverse talent.
The company’s Diverse Talent Accelerators Initiative allows a more detailed search experience for recruiters to target diverse candidates. And their Smart Start Tools revamps the way job postings are written, focusing on inclusive language designed to eliminate bias and appeal to a wide range of candidates.
Cisco also uses tools in the interview process to create balanced, diverse experiences. Interview panels include members who are diverse in gender globally, and diverse in both gender and ethnicity in the U.S.
“Our research tells us diverse panels improve the likelihood of hiring African-American/Black candidates by as much as 70 percent, and Hispanic/Latino and women candidates by 50 percent,” the company said.
Also, managers and upper-level leaders receive Managing Bias Training to help them recognize bias and drive the strategies to help neutralize it. All leaders also have “Meeting-in-a-Box” training that they can use to talk to their own teams about bias and hold their leaders and co-workers accountable for making bias-free decisions. The company also uses 15-minute Pit Stop webinars to engage employees in conversations on supplier diversity, inclusive language and other diversity-driven topics.
McAfee
Diversity and inclusion is part of McAfee’s DNA. The cybersecurity giant is led by CEO Chris Young, who is repeatedly recognized as one of corporate America’s most influential black leaders. He has been at the helm of McAfee since 2017 and led the initiative to spin off from Intel, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager.
Diversity and inclusion is also linked to McAfee’s business objectives, Young said.
“Anyone who steps through McAfee’s doors has a right to feel respected for their thoughts and opinions, to feel they belong. We stand for inclusion at McAfee and that commitment is embedded in everything we do from guiding our business practices and shaping our culture to driving our community involvement,” Young said on the company website.
McAfee recently released its first-ever inclusion and diversity report for 2018, their first full year as an independent company, and they are already showing strides in some areas.
According to the report, 27.1 percent of McAfee’s global hires were women, and 13 percent of U.S. hires were underrepresented minorities. There was also a 12 percent increase in women promoted to leadership roles in 2018.
Chatelle Lynch, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, said McAfee is first in its industry to achieve gender pay parity, which they accomplished by spending $4 million to adjust the pay gap.
The company encourages diversity of all kinds and launched a Return to Workplace program for women and men who may have paused their career to raise children, care for loved ones or serve their country. Eighty percent of participants in the 12-week program were offered a full-time position at the company, the report says.
McAfee also encourages employees worldwide to share their life experiences on the company blog under the LifeAtMcAfee hashtag. The initiative led to a 228 percent increase in blog views from 2017 to 2018. But more importantly, it makes McAfee employees feel valued and included.
Jeff Chaponick is CEO of MAC Diversity Recruiters, an international search firm that partners with companies of all sizes, including companies such as Deloitte, Nike, and Marsh & McLennan, to help them reach their diversity talent goals. Jeff is on the Board of Directors for the Texas Diversity Council and the National Diversity Council. He also is a member of various professional organizations that help address the disparities in hiring among traditionally underrepresented groups.
