NOD President Partners with PwC’s CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion to Tackle Unconscious Bias

[NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 16, 2018] – Yesterday, the National Organization on Disability’s President Carol Glazer, joined forces with PwC’s CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion^™, to take part in the largest dialogue on D&I amongst C-suite executives. CEO Action is the biggest executive coalition advancing diversity and inclusion within the workplace. At this second annual CEO Closed-Door Session, the group announced key actions to broaden awareness of unconscious bias and encourage difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

The three actions include:

• Launching the new “Check Your Blind Spots” unconscious bias mobile tour with experiential elements and online resources to give people the opportunity to learn about and explore ways to mitigate unconscious bias in their everyday lives. The tour will make 100 stops across the country and engage one million people.
• Initiating the “I Act On” pledge, in conjunction with the unconscious bias mobile tour, individuals can commit to action through a personal pledge to mitigate any personal unconscious biases, and act on driving more inclusive behaviors in their everyday lives. Individuals can also take the pledge via ceoaction.com/pledge.
• Hosting a “Day of Understanding”, the largest conversation about diversity and inclusion in the business community and beyond. More than 150 signatories came together to take bold action and host a day of candid conversations within each of their respective companies surrounding race, gender and age in order to further embrace differences in our organizations.

“These bold actions will help leaders draw on our collective power to drive change,” said Tim Ryan, US Chairman and Senior Partner of PwC and chair of the CEO Action steering committee. “Together, we have made unprecedented progress, but we must continue to challenge ourselves in new ways to foster more open, inclusive and diverse workplaces and communities.”

In addition to discussing the new actions, CEOs and presidents  collaborated during working sessions and heard from employees about their real-life experiences at signatory companies. Speakers Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Van Jones also offered their perspectives on key diversity and inclusion topics.

The coalition will also release “Beyond the Bottom Line”, a five-part landmark series featuring conversations between CEOs and their employees, unpacking diversity and inclusion issues confronting the workplace today hosted on the Huffington Post’s Purpose + Profit platform, and sponsored by PwC.

“The collaborative sessions, direct CEO-to-CEO engagement and the new actions are tangible examples of how CEO Action realizes the significant role individual CEOs can play in continuing to advance diversity and inclusion,” said David Taylor, Chairman, President and CEO of The Procter & Gamble Company. “As leaders in our industries, organizations and communities, creating positive change and making an impact is our responsibility.”

With research showing that 78 percent of Americans want companies to address important social justice issues, the actions outlined at the second annual Closed-Door Session will help the coalition’s more than 500 signatories, representing 85 industries and 12 million employees, glean ideas and opportunities to drive additional progress within their companies and organizations around diversity and inclusion.

CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ steering committee member and EY US Chairman and Managing Partner and Americas Managing Partner, Kelly Grier, stated: “Building an environment that celebrates and includes differences is essential to developing the transformative leaders we need in today’s complex business environment. It takes bold action to make an impact, and today’s announcements show how passionate CEO Action leaders are about driving cultural change.”

Companies represented at the closed-door discussion include: A.T. Kearney, Achieve3000, ACT, Adtalem Global Education, Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering, AllianceBernstein, American Heart Association, AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies, Ascena Retail Group, Ashley Stewart, Asian American Business Development Center, Bashen Corporation, Bowie State University, Brighton Agency, Career Communications Group, Inc., Catalyst, CECP, Center for Audit Quality, Century Snacks, Chicago United, Children’s Minnesota, Con Edison Inc. / Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.,Council of Chief State School Officers, Denny’s, Inc., Discovery Education, DNA, Edelman, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Equilar, Erie Insurance, Express Scripts, EY, Facing History and Ourselves, Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Feeding America, FirstEnergy, Fisher Phillips, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, Horace Mann Educators Corporation, Horizon Pharma, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Information Technology Senior Management Forum, Ingredion, INROADS, Inc., Institute for Corporate Productivity, J.M. Huber Corporation, K12 Inc., Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, King’s College, Legg Mason Global Asset Management, Lehigh University, Marcum LLP, Masco Corporation, McKinsey & Company, Moody’s Corporation, Movado Group, Inc., National Down Syndrome Society, National HBCU Business Deans Roundtable, National Organization on Disability, Nixon Peabody LLP, Novant Health, OhioHealth, One To World, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, Per Scholas, Inc., Porter Novelli, PSEG, PwC, Randstad North America, RRD, Savills Studley, Sodexo, Solar Energy Industries Association, Springboard Consulting LLC, Stetson University, SunTrust Banks Inc., Swiss Re Americas, Tanenbaum, Tapestry, TEKsystems, The Boston Consulting Group, The Bozzuto Group, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, The Executive Leadership Council, The Hartford, The New York Times Company, The Procter & Gamble Company, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Tillamook County Creamery Association, United States Steel Corporation, United Way Worldwide, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., WayUp, WP Engine, Worldpay.

For more information on CEO Action, visit ceoaction.com.