Companies with D&I Programs
Corporate America made a $50 billion promise to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in 2020. However, the complete adoption of DEI may be further off than initially expected. Business.com’s research team analyzed 680 DEI Statements from private companies in 2022 and found that many industries are still behind in terms of representation. In fact, only 24% of the industries included in the study reported satisfactorily representing women and people of color (POC).
Given that DEI is a crucial part of the working experience, how can aspiring workers find employment in companies that center equity and diversity? Let’s take a closer look below.
Where to look
DEI has become an essential component of the modern workplace, but actions speak louder than words. While many companies pay lip service to DEI, only a few stand out in terms of actual execution. Here’s a look at some of the companies that are widely acknowledged to be thorough in their DEI initiatives.
Airbnb is a particular standout for DEI and has even been included in Parity.org’s list of the best companies for women. This is thanks to its wide range of family benefits and efforts to close the gender wage gap. It even offers employees the choice to work from home or the office, which provides flexibility for working parents.
The company has also spoken explicitly about its diversity targets. Airbnb pledged to reach several diversity goals by 2025. These goals include having underrepresented minorities make up one out of five employees in their U.S. offices and having women make up half of its entire global workforce.
The electronics retailer joins Airbnb on the list with its impressive number of women leaders — including CEO Corie Barry and 45% of the company’s Board of Directors. Its active Women’s Employee Resource Group promotes networking and leadership opportunities for female employees as well.
The company has committed $44 million to diversity, inclusion, and community efforts. By 2025, it aims to fill one out of three new non-hourly corporate positions with BIPOC, and one out of three new non-hourly corporate positions with women.
Food and beverage corporation PepsiCo has economically empowered 27 million women since 2016 with programming to support workforce development in farming and the food system. More than 43% of management roles were held by women in 2021, and the company is working continuously to wield DEI as a competitive business advantage.
In its 2021 DEI Annual Report, PepsiCo reported that it has currently filled 43% of global managerial roles with women and 8.3% and 9.5% of managerial roles in the U.S. with Black and Hispanic managers, respectively.
What to look for
There are some telltale signs of a company’s DEI commitment. When seeking out opportunities, make sure to look at the following elements:
Employer’s website and social media
Companies that are committed to their DEI programs tend to have a section dedicated to their efforts on their web pages. In some instances, you may find a mention of DEI in their mission or vision statement.
Remember, however, that concrete evidence is more important. Scour through the ‘Meet the Team’ section. An article by LHH discussing diversity and inclusion in recruitment explains how job candidates can assess diversity efforts based on the existing staff and the senior team of an organization. The Business.com report discussed earlier found that POC in private companies compose only 20% to 25% of senior leadership, despite being 50% to 60% of the overall workforce.
Otherwise, you can look for events that acknowledge minority groups on their social media page. A quick search through ULTA Beauty’s marketing sites, for example, can help you identify their participation in the Fifteen Percent Pledge and the formation of their Executive DEI Counsel. This helps prove that their commitment to DEI goes beyond lip service.
Review sites
Hearing the practical experiences of employees or partners of the company can help you gain a more objective overview of their DEI programs. This can be found on sites like Glassdoor or InHerSight, with the latter being particularly helpful for female employees. You can also seek out direct reviews from personal contacts. This is the best time to flex your network and connect with people who have worked at your target company to see if they can share more about their DEI-related experience.
Your interviewer
If you are in the interview stage of your job search, take the opportunity to ask questions of your interviewer. A write-up by The Balance suggests inquiring about diversity using safe formats such as, “Does the company offer managers training on diversity, equity, and inclusion?” or “What does the company do to help ensure inclusion?” A company that prioritizes its diversity hiring program will appreciate your eagerness and be able to discuss internal and external initiatives.
Taking a look at the DEI reports of multinational companies can give you a great jumping point for companies to apply to. From there, you can look for other indicators like those listed above. These steps will help you find employers with set diversity targets and programs that best fit your needs and expectations.