Addressing Racial Inequity Takes Precedence

Data from the Institute for Corporate Productivity’s (i4cp) latest pulse survey of 315 business leaders found that addressing the issue of racial inequity enterprisewide is a top priority for most companies.

Among larger organizations (those employing >1,000 people), the importance placed on this is undeniably distinct—a combined 80% said last week that the level of this priority in their organizations is high or very high.  

Given last month’s announcement by the SEC about human capital data reporting and disclosures, combined with growing social and cultural pressures, the urgency related to confronting this issue is intense.

While the SEC didn’t articulate specific metrics in its announcement, the expectation and message is clear that organizations must be prepared to disclose metrics related to diversity and equity (among others) going forward.

This is not a surprise; i4cp has been tracking this shift for quite some time.

In addition to our expansive research on corporate culture, we published our white paper, Measuring and Managing the New Corporate Currency, earlier this year to help i4cp member companies understand the drivers and implications of the growing emphasis on culture and brand and related measures.

The paper is based on interviews with dozens of CEOs and directors of public boards including Amazon, Domino’s, Dunkin’ Brands, and Fannie Mae, and examines the human capital data that leaders of high-performance organizations find most valuable in executing their roles.

We found that in addition to focus on risk and readiness related to executing evolving business strategies, emphasis on organizational culture and capability is viewed as critical to the business value equation.

Addressing racial inequities enterprisewide and what it takes to move decisively from discussion to action that drives meaningful change will be the focus of a panel discussion hosted this week by i4cp, with delegates representing each of i4cp’s six executive boards.

With a collective membership of over 140 senior leaders (Chief Human Resource Officers, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officers, Chief Learning & Talent Officers, Total Rewards Leaders, Talent Acquisition, and People Analytics) the discussion is a much-anticipated coming together of the leaders of some of the world’s most successful and influential companies. We will share our thoughts on the conversation with i4cp’s member companies in the coming weeks.