Apr 30, 2020

80+ Corporations Support Covid-19 Response & 5-Point Action Agenda

Diversity Champion Organizations Collaborate to Address Social & Economic Impacts on Vulnerable Communities

NEW YORK, April 30, 2020 – Ascend launched a consortium with ALPFA, Catalyst, The Conference Board, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), National Congress of American Indians, National Organization on Disability (NOD), Out & Equal, Tanenbaum and 80+ Supporting Companies to address the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Today, we collectively call for our members, partners and associates to affirm the 5-Point Action Agenda:

• Promote Inclusion: Advocate for a diverse and inclusive workplace and society
• Raise Awareness: Highlight the unique impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups
• Denounce Bias: Encourage individuals to report virus-linked discriminatory acts against Pan-Asians and other targeted groups and communities in the workplace and in public
• Support Communities: Contribute time, knowledge and / or other resources to aid frontline workers, COVID-19 victims and families
• Give Donations: Provide funds and / or other resources to support vulnerable populations of people and impacted businesses

Our ten organizations advocate for members of underserved communities that are particularly vulnerable to public health crises and economic downturns. Together, we pledge to combat stigma, biases associating Pan-Asians with the novel coronavirus, and all forms of discrimination based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation and veteran status.

Each of our organizations has delivered COVID-19 programming including educational webinars and Executive Town Halls, ERG support programs, engaged in fundraising efforts to support front line workers and procuring PPEs, and published resource guides to assist diverse groups. Additionally, we are working with key CEO driven coalitions such as CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion to advance awareness and education of virus-linked bias at the highest levels of the business community.

To date, over 80 companies from cross sectors have joined to support the Action Agenda including:

Adobe, AlixPartners, American Airlines, American Express, AT&T, Aviation Capital Group, Bank of America, Bayer, BBVA, BDO USA LLP, BNY Mellon, Boeing, Capgemini, Capital One, The Carlyle Group, Cisco, The Coca Cola Company, CohnReznick, Cox Enterprises, Deloitte, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Deutsche Bank USA Corp, DLA Piper, DSM, E4H Environments for Health Architecture, East West Bank, Equilar, Expedia Group, Experian, EY, Facebook, Goldman Sachs & Co., Google, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Intel Interpublic Group, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, Legg Mason, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Lockheed Martin Corporation, L’Oréal, Lululemon, Manulife & John Hancock, Marriott, MassMutual, McCormick & Company, Medtronic, Mercedes-Benz, Merck, MetLife, Micro Focus, Misumi USA, Morgan Stanley, NBA, Novartis, Panasonic, PepsiCo, Pfizer, PIMCO, Procter & Gamble, Protiviti, Prudential Financial, PSE&G, PwC, RBC, Sanofi, Scotiabank, Sodexo, Sun Life, Synchrony, TPG, Uber, UBS, Under Armour, U.S. Bank, U.S. Steel, Walmart and WNBA.

“We applaud the companies collaborating with us to drive actions that safeguard protections for diverse groups and underrepresented employee segments,” said Anna Mok, President, Ascend, “This commitment reinforces the importance of our 5-Point Action Agenda. We call on additional companies and organizations to join this consortium and help us accelerate progress together.”

Learn More + Get Involved

• Ascend Consortium’s Action Response to the Covid-19 Panedemic
• Join the Action
• Use the #AscendTogether hashtag to show your support on social media