Empowering and Mobilizing Employees to Effect Change
Challenge
Newell Brands is deeply committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and to driving meaningful, long-term change within and outside our walls.
Actions
1. We are developing a comprehensive 3-5-year D+I plan consisting of five workstreams with a strong emphasis on increasing a sense of belonging, focused on gender and racial equity. The plan includes long-term targets for representation, pay equity, improving the workplace environment for greater inclusivity and an emphasis on women and People of Color in leadership positions.
2. We launched four employee resource groups (ERGs): BEACON (Black and African ancestry), RAY (women), OPEN (LGBTQ) and NAAPA (Asian and Pacific American). Our ERGs foster an inclusive workplace by providing opportunity for employees to unite, build relationships, develop leadership skills, and work alongside leadership on D&I strategy. For example, BEACON hosts panels and discussions on key movements in the fight for equity, mental health workshops to address trauma in the Black community and provide opportunities to support grassroot organizations. We are also launching a CEO Advisory Council called Black Lives Thrive.
3. Newell is focused on continuous communication, education and training, including unconscious bias training. We publish regular D&I content on our employee app, Newell Now. Our CEO Ravi Saligram, Chief Diversity Officer, ERGs and others share updates on our progress, celebrations of our employees and their communities and educational resources such as videos and articles to establish a common understanding around D&I.
Outcomes
We shared representation data in our 2020 Corporate Social Responsibility Report including corporate goals to improve representation of women in Director roles and above and representation of People of Color in management roles. Less than a year into Ravi’s tenure, we have quadrupled the number of women who lead our businesses, now representing half of our operating business leadership. We’ll share progress annually in our CSR Report.
Contact
Shay Zeemer, Chief Diversity Officer
Quote
I’m honored to sign the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge and committed to creating a work environment at Newell Brands where our 30,000 employees can bring their whole selves to work, achieve their full potential and feel a strong sense of belonging. Acknowledging and conquering unconscious bias and improving representation will enable us to better serve our employees, consumers customers and shareholders. As CEOs, we need to use our collective influence to cultivate diverse and inclusive cultures which build bridges to our communities and drive meaningful dialogue and actions to overcome societal inequities. Now is the time to listen, learn and change!