A Fortune 500 CEO’s Fight for Meaningful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Work

Roz Brewer has spent a lot of time taking calls from other CEOs—most of them white men—hoping to improve their companies’ DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion: an effort (with roots in the American civil rights movement of the 1960s) to advance equitable representation and opportunity at work, in school, and beyond. Roz’s record shows why she’s received those calls: Among other things, she has painstakingly compared the salaries of her employees to ensure pay equity, and she has acknowledged that the work of employee empowerment doesn’t end at the recruitment stage. “You have to create an environment where...their voice is heard so that they can show off their wares,” she says.

DEI has a complex history, littered with companies that have sung its praises while maintaining exclusionary practices. One question among experts in the field: Is the primary goal of these efforts fairness for its own sake or bottom-line success? The argument that DEI makes good business sense (because, for example, a diversity of perspectives promotes revenue-driving practices like critical thinking) could, according to a 2022 study published in a journal of the American Psychological Association, end up alienating marginalized people from the very companies that make that argument. Still, the logic behind the good-for-business case is well-established. A study conducted by global consulting firm McKinsey analyzed data from 366 public companies across Canada, Latin America, the U.S., and the U.K., and found that those in the top 25 percent for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to see above-average financial returns.

But however a company frames its DEI mission, it’s unlikely to result in significant change if the messaging is not grounded in sustainable practices. So how can your company take meaningful steps toward greater DEI? From the break room to the C-suite, here are five strategies. Keep in mind that there are many more out there and that achieving true diversity, equity, and inclusion requires deep commitment and a range of approaches.

1. Delving Into Data
Working toward DEI can be a non-starter if you don’t know exactly where the problems lie; that’s why it makes sense to build DEI strategy on a solid foundation of data. The ACT Report, a sweeping document released in 2021 by a coalition of tech companies, including Snap Inc. (the company behind the social media app Snapchat), stresses the need for a DEI data infrastructure: a system of metrics that can expose biases and track progress in recruiting, promotion, retention, and elsewhere.

Diversity among applicants and hires is, to be sure, an important data set, but the authors argue that a company’s measurements should go beyond representation: They should illuminate how employees are treated at every stage of their job cycles. Likewise, data infrastructures should focus not on the number of policies in place but on the results of those policies. Once a company has chosen which numbers to track, it can use the data to set goals and make changes.

2. Top-Down Representation
The 2022 Fortune 500—a ranking of America’s largest companies by revenue, compiled by American business magazine Fortune—featured only six Black CEOs. Clearly, the corporate world has a long way to go when it comes to executive- and board-level representation, but there are some signs of improvement. A 2021 survey jointly conducted by American business-tech outlets Fast Company and The Plug found that, of the 42 U.S. technology companies included in the survey, 71 percent had at least one Black board member. (It should be noted that 37 percent had been appointed no earlier than 2020, a year of worldwide protest following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer.)

When it comes to increasing diversity at the highest levels, companies have several models to consider, some of them industry specific. One high-profile (if controversial) example is the National Football League’s Rooney Rule, which dictates that at least one “minority candidate” be considered, via an in-person interview, for any general manager or head coach position. Many law firms have adopted the Mansfield Rule, which requires the candidate pools for leadership positions to consist of at least 30 percent women; those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color (also known as BIPOC); LGBTQ people; and/or people with disabilities. And under the 4-2-50 rule, final interview rounds for top positions must include four candidates—two of them from historically underrepresented groups.

“This is not a numbers game. This is about equity and value. This is about a true meritocracy. This is about earning your way, regardless of your background.” —Roz

3. Targeted Talent Acquisition
Some companies have recruited more inclusively by building a presence among communities where strong candidates might otherwise be overlooked. American software company Intuit launched the Apprenticeship Pathway Program, which offered coding courses to prospective employees without computer science degrees, focusing on women and BIPOC people. More than 80 percent of those who entered the program were hired, Intuit reports, and 33 percent of the company’s technological roles are now occupied by women—an improvement on the tech industry average of 29 percent.

Another, less elaborate strategy: diversity-focused recruiting platforms, which range from general (Mogul) to specialized (Latinas in Tech). After—and even during—the hiring stage, some companies connect candidates and new employees with relevant employee resource groups (learn more in the next section), which can be a potent source of support and advocacy.

4. Safe Spaces
The vast majority of Fortune 500 companies have employee resource groups, or ERGs, which allow employees to gather around specific backgrounds, experiences, and characteristics. This is one way to instill a culture of belonging—to add the “inclusion” piece while diversity is addressed at the recruitment stage.

Outside of the ERG system, some companies solicit anonymous input (on the messaging platform Slack, for example) from employees so they can speak out about office conditions without fear of reprisal. Others organize events aimed at building stronger communities within the company. Erin L. Thomas, vice president and head of diversity, inclusion, and belonging for the freelancing platform Upwork, put together the company’s first Black Excellence Summit in 2020. Throughout the event, Black employees could have honest conversations about their work environment and, as Thomas later said, “chill while Black at work.” She reported that 100 percent of attendees gave positive feedback on the event and its impact.

5. Pay Equity and Transparency
As related in class, Roz has called for reports on the salaries of her staff and worked to correct gender- and race-based discrepancies. This is an example of pay equity: ensuring that the work of all employees is compensated according to the same standards. It encompasses salaries as well as bonuses, stock options, relocation packages, and other extras. Depending on the size of the company, HR departments or third-party consultants can conduct regular audits, weighing a number of factors to determine the value of each employee’s work and spotting areas where prejudice or favoritism may be exerting an influence. The resulting salary adjustments, according to a 2019 study conducted by American organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, can amount to less than 1 percent of the company’s total salary budget.

Another option is pay transparency, whereby any employee can view the salary of any other employee—including managers and bosses. American grocery giant Whole Foods has been publishing average wages for years, and multiple companies are cropping up to provide software that can help businesses adopt the practice. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone is automatically paid fairly, and some argue that it shifts the responsibility for equitable compensation to employees—but pay transparency at least gives them more of the information they need in order to effectively ask for more.