Take on Race: Advancing Racial Equity Together

P&G is advancing the leadership commitment of CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion by launching Take on Race: Advancing Racial Equity Together. This year-long series of activities is focused on strategic action steps to help achieve racial equity in America and to foster corporate collaboration to deliver programs that improve access and opportunity for people of color.

A group of committed companies across sectors have come together in a non-competitive effort to pursue equity across a variety of issues including education, health care, wealth creation, social justice and image bias. The companies are focused on eliminating barriers to access and advancement for people of color, as well as the institutional structures that cause systemic disparities. Take on Race promotes best practices and combining complementary efforts that have been previously led by individual companies.

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation recently released data confirming a tremendous value proposition for companies to advance racial equity. By the year 2050, our country stands to realize an eight trillion-dollar gain in GDP by closing the U.S. racial equity gap.

The inaugural Take on Race conference in September 2019 examined both history and harsh truth about how race has shaped American society and institutions. More than 125 executive participants from 80 different companies, government, non-profits and educational institutions attended.

Corporate leaders came together at the inaugural event to:

1. Interact around personal perspectives, experiences, and current realities on race that weigh heavy on American society
2. Explore the value proposition for corporations to move beyond internal unconscious bias training and address racial equity outside their walls
3. Examine proprietary programs, considered to be “Corporate Race Disruptors,” to determine how these successful efforts may be scaled for greater outreach and impact
4. Identify bold actions for Corporate America to advance racial equity by changing the socioeconomic environment and improve life experiences for people of color

Specific programs highlighted included P&G’s efforts, like Talk About Bias, to positively and accurately represent all consumers (and especially black and brown people) in media and advertising; Walmart’s efforts to ensure greater access to employment for individuals exiting in the criminal justice system; and JPMorgan Chase’s Advancing Black Pathways Initiative which is designed to close the racial wealth gap.

A more complete summary of the initial conference can be downloaded here.

We’re looking for partner companies and others that have best practices to share in our specific focus areas: education, health care, social justice, wealth creation and image bias. If you are aware of efforts in these areas that are making a difference and should be adopted more broadly, or if you want to join the movement, we want to hear from you. Please contact Barron Witherspoon, Global Vice President, Industry Relations and Corporate Race Initiative, Procter & Gamble at witherspoon.bm@pg.com.