As the nation reconsiders its long history of systemic racism and oppression, there has been an increase in new corporate pledges to improve and adopt anti-racist practices and grow the representation of communities of color in private-sector leadership roles. The urgent national conversation and protests following the murder of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis have provoked an overdue reckoning on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in corporate boardrooms, venture capital firms, and startups. While the lack of representation at the senior level is acute across much of the business sector—there have been only 18 Black CEOs since 1999 in the entire Fortune 500—the technology sector in particular must confront its longstanding and serious diversity challenge.
Tech companies large and small are stepping up to pledge community investments (e.g., PayPal’s $500+ million fund to support businesses owned by people of color) and enact policy changes (like Amazon’s and IBM’s decisions to halt facial recognition work). If followed through and implemented, together, these individual commitments herald one of the most significant corporate shifts since the original Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ‘60s.
Amid this historic national conversation on race and how the private sector must do better, the Aspen Digital Anti-racism Pledge Tracker will monitor commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion from US tech and media companies. This online resource will summarize and make more visible the steps that these companies plan to take to boost opportunities for people of color, confront systemic inequality, and combat racism in the justice system, among other goals.
We are building this tracker in real time with your help and support, and are grateful for any contributions you might add. Please flag new commitments either on Twitter by tagging @aspendigital and using #PledgeTracker or by filling out this webform. Over time, we will make this reporting more robust, especially as commitments are being fulfilled. Thank you for developing this tracker with us!
As of September 30, 2020.
If you would like to submit a commitment on behalf of your organization, please tag @aspendigital on Twitter and use #PledgeTracker or submit here.
