The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requires U.S. companies with more than 100 employees to file an EEO-1 report. The compliance survey collects company employment data categorized by race/ethnicity, gender, and job category. However, it is not mandated for companies to publicly release the data.
Many companies often share the data with organizations that can measure and analyze D&I practices. Meanwhile, others create annual D&I reports to share publicly. For example, after receiving backlash for lack of workforce diversity, major tech companies began publishing annual D&I reports in 2014, according to TechRepublic. It’s essential for corporations in the U.S. to address D&I issues like any other business problem, Ryan said in his LinkedIn post.
PwC’s data-led approach, with a deliberate strategy encompassing its purpose and values, has resulted in progress, but “we have more work to do,” he said. Ryan co-founded the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion — a CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace — in 2016. “The CEO Action is harnessing the power of over 1,200 coalition members to accelerate change inside our own walls and in our society,” he recently told to HR Dive. The CEO Action for Racial Equity, recently launched by the coalition, is a “fellowship bringing together full-time employees from CEO Action member organizations who will dedicate 100% of their time to affecting policy solutions on race and equity,” Ryan said.
Many companies have exhibited an increased focus on racial equity as the Covid-19 pandemic and call for racial justice continue. Organizations need to keep in mind that how they respond to employees during times of crisis can have an impact on how it’s perceived by future workers and even the public, experts at Randstad said during a webinar in April. Improvement in diversity, especially in executive teams, is experienced by organizations placing a special focus on inclusion, in addition to systematic, business-led approaches to D&I, according to a May 19 McKinsey & Company report.