DTCC Connection

DTCC President and CEO Michael Bodson joined more than 150 CEOs today in signing the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion^TM, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion (D&I) in the workplace.

This collaborative undertaking brings leaders from more than 50 industries together to work toward sourcing solutions and actions to inspire change. By joining the group of signatories, Bodson has pledged that DTCC will take action to further foster a workplace where different perspectives are welcomed and unconscious bias is addressed.

DTCC and the rest of the group have made information sharing a cornerstone to their pledge signed June 12. They will be sharing best known—and unsuccessful—actions with each other via CEOAction.com, a central hub created to advance D&I efforts.

“This pledge reflects DTCC’s strong commitment to put D&I at the top of the agenda for CEOs across industry sectors,” Bodson said. “At DTCC, D&I is at the core of our ability to function as a global company. I am proud to join with 150 CEOs in pledging to take action toward this cause.”

A growing body of research reveals that stronger business performance is directly correlated with diverse teams and inclusive workplace environments. Multiple studies have concluded that diversity increases innovation and economic growth, yet the benefits of diversity are often not fully realized at companies.

This dynamic drove the signatories of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ to commit to taking action, with the goal of driving growth by enhancing employee engagement through an inclusive work environment.

The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion Pledge

The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion^TM is led by a steering committee of CEOs and leaders from Accenture, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Deloitte US, The Executive Leadership Council, Ernst & Young (EY), General Atlantic, Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), New York Life, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). The coalition represents more than 50 industries across all 50 U.S. states and millions of employees globally. Each signatory has committed to:

1. Continue to cultivate workplaces that support open dialogue on complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about diversity and inclusion: Companies will create and maintain environments, platforms, and forums where their employees feel comfortable reaching out to their colleagues to gain greater awareness of each other’s experiences and perspectives. By encouraging an ongoing dialogue and not tolerating any incongruence with these values of openness, companies are building trust, encouraging compassion and open-mindedness, and reinforcing their commitment to a culture of inclusivity.

2. Implement and expand unconscious bias education: Companies commit to rolling out and/or expanding unconscious bias education within their companies in the form that best fits their specific culture and business. By helping employees recognize and minimize any potential blind spots, companies can better facilitate more open and honest conversations. Additionally, the initiative will be making non-proprietary unconscious bias education modules available to other organizations free of charge. This training will live on the unified hub, CEOAction.com.

3. Share best known—and unsuccessful—actions: Companies commit to working together to evolve existing diversity strategies by sharing successes and challenges with one another. This will include creating accountability systems within their companies to track their progress and share regular updates with each other in order to catalog effective programs and measurement practices.

Bodson will join the rest of signatories for the coalition’s first CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ Summit in the fall to assess progress, analyze gaps and plan next steps. Starting today, anyone can visit CEOAction.com to learn more about this effort and watch for updates on future activity.