The Congressional Black Caucus has given companies a January 31 deadline before they reevaluate their progress.
In the corporate accountability letter, the CBC requested for corporations to send an explanatory update on their recent investments in racial equity and to begin working more closely with the caucus to create more sustainable solutions to close the racial wealth gap that can be written into legislation.
The CBC wrote in the letter, “For years advocates have taken a front-row seat in this fight, working tirelessly to ensure the Black community prospers against these odds. It is past time to concentrate our efforts and equip our community with the necessary resources to close the racial wealth gap in America. The journey in front of us requires Corporate America to help drive an agenda that will power Black economic mobility.”
The CBC acknowledged that some efforts that major corporations have been making have been performative. They identified some companies hosting fake interviews for diverse candidates in order to give off the appearance that they’re making DEI efforts.
Due to the increase in concerning reports, the CBC has given corporate America a Jan. 31 deadline to make marked improvements and share them before they release an encompassing report on where listed corporations are on a grade scale for how invested they are in DEI.
The persistent issue that Black Americans are facing is causing a widening in the racial wealth gap. Black people in the workforce are severely underrepresented in positions of high wages and are often not advanced up the chain as quickly as their white counterparts.
Democratic Reps. Steven Horsford (Nev.), chair of the caucus; Joyce Beatty (Ohio), first chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion; and Glenn Ivey (Md.), sat down in an interview with The Hill, and elaborated that they hope the letter will spur companies to do better in the DEI apartment.
Beatty added, “When you put us in the room, it puts more diversity on not just race and ethnicity, but diversity of thought, diversity of background, diversity of experience, and it makes it better for the company.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
