Many social justice advocates, corporate diversity experts and investors say companies also need to focus on equity in their own ranks, especially by hiring and promoting minority workers. The tensions show the difficulty executives face in aligning their firms with popular social causes at a time of
- In the past, U.S. corporations have largely remained silent as protests erupted over killings of African-Americans by police officers. That changed with the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has set off a flurry of corporate statements of solidarity with the black community – along with pledges of more than $1.7 billion to advance racial justice and equity.
"If you take an honest look at corporate America, outside their glossy diversity reports, structural bias for women and people of color remains as entrenched as ever," she said. Companies’ willingness to take strong stands could signal a substantive shift in the attitudes of corporate leaders, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist for Leuthold Group, a research and asset management firm. “Some is probably lip service, but I think it goes beyond that, and there's a realization that something needs to change,” Paulsen said.
On June 1, Facebook Inc Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg wrote on his personal Facebook page: “To help in this fight, I know Facebook needs to do more to support equality and safety.” African-Americans make up less than 4% of Facebook’s workforce and about 3% of its senior leadership, compared to 13% of the U.S. populace, according to company disclosures. Other major technology firms, including Google, Twitter Inc, Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp, have disclosed similarly low proportions of African-American workers and senior managers, relative to the population.
A Walmart spokeswoman cited recent comments from its CEO Doug McMillon that its recruiting and development of African-American employees and other people of color will be “even more of a priority” going forward. Amazon says in a workforce report that it strives “for better representation across our various businesses.”
The ACLU welcomes the donation, said Ben Wizner, director of its Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.
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