In a cross-organizational evaluation of CECP’s internal and external DEI strategies, the team recognized a few opportunities for CECP to lead by example for its 220+ affiliated companies. The challenge then became how to address these opportunities with both urgency and a long-term lens.

CECP developed four working groups, each focused on a specific opportunity for growth and facilitated by one or more members of the organization’s executive leadership team. The four growth opportunities identified by the team were DEI training, board composition, human resources practices, and company/partner focus areas. Since June 2020, when the working groups were formed, each has set measurable goals, developed a meeting cadence, and reported back to the team at large on progress to date.

While these working groups are intended to be ongoing and evolve parallel to larger societal conversations, the outcomes so far include an uptick in team-wide engagement and concrete strategies for improving CECP’s internal and external DEI footprint.

Ella Snow