We found 25+ examples of diversity goals from top companies aiming to boost diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace. To make the list, the diversity goals had to be written on their website or spoken goal by their leadership (e.g. CEO or Head of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I)) in a public forum (e.g. like VMware’s CEO on CNBC (see below)).

What are Diversity Goals and Inclusion Performance Goals?

Diversity and inclusion performance goals are like roadmaps for creating an environment where everyone feels welcome and valued. So, think of it as a plan to make sure that people from all walks of life—different cultures, backgrounds, genders, and ages—feel like they belong.

Many organizations now see the importance of having a diverse workforce. When you bring together people with diverse talents and perspectives, it leads to better ideas and solutions. 

So, what exactly are these goals? Well, they’re specific targets that companies set to create a more inclusive work environment. These goals might include things like increasing the number of women or minorities in managerial positions, providing unconscious bias training for all employees, or ensuring that religious holidays are respected and accommodated.

The good news is that there are many ways to achieve these goals. So, companies can start by conducting a diversity audit to see where they stand and where they need to improve. They can also implement DEI programs, like employee surveys or focus groups, to gather additional data and feedback.

Why is it Necessary to have a Diversity Goals and Inclusivity Workforce?

Having a diverse and inclusive workforce isn’t just a good idea—it’s essential for success. Let’s talk about why.

Firstly, diversity brings together people from different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Imagine a team where everyone thinks the same and has the same ideas—it would be like playing a game with only one strategy. But when you have diverse teams, it’s like having a whole playbook of strategies to choose from. Thus, you get fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and creative solutions to problems. So, it’s a great way to keep things interesting and moving forward.

Cultural diversity in the workplace also fosters an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected. When people see others who look like them or share similar backgrounds, they feel like they belong. This sense of belonging is crucial for employee morale and productivity. Plus, it helps with employee retention — people are more likely to stay at a company where they feel appreciated.

So, having a diverse workforce isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s also good for business. In addition, studies have shown that companies with more diverse teams perform better financially. They attract a wider range of customers and clients because they understand different cultures and perspectives.

Types of Inclusion & Diversity Goals

What do the diversity goals of these 25 companies below have in common?

According to our list, a company can increase diversity and inclusion in the workforce by focusing on one or more of these types of goals:

  • Diverse Candidates as a % of overall candidates — Examples: Hilton and Restaurant Brands both commit that they will have 50% of candidates be diverse.
  • Diversity Goal at Interview Stage — Example: VMware’s CEO committed (on CNBC) to “No job-hiring process will end unless a minority candidate is interviewed.”
  • Diversity Hires Goal (%) — Example: Mozilla commits to doubling the percentage of Black and Latinx representation of its 1,000-person U.S. staff
  • % of Women Hired in Technical Roles — Example: Intel commits to “increase the number of women in technical roles to 40%” (of all roles)
  • Leadership Hire Quota — Example: Facebook commits to a 30% increase in the number of people of color in leadership positions over the next five years. Others who doing this include Google/Alphabet Inc., HP Inc., Levi Strauss, Microsoft, Mozilla, RBC, Wells Fargo)
  • Diversity and Inclusion Training and Goals — Example: At HPE, all managers are required to attend diversity and inclusion training. Expedia also did this.
  • Supplier Diversity Program — Example: The AT&T Supplier Diversity Team committed to spend $3 billion with U.S. Black-owned suppliers by the end of this year
  • Creating a Diversity Council/Advisory Board (GM, HPE)
  • Investing sizable cash money in good D&I causes  — Example: Adidas committing $120 million to causes related to ending racial injustice between now and 2025 (others who did this include Apple, AT&T, Facebook, Google/Alphabet Inc., Microsoft, Netflix, RBC, Yum! Brands)

Note: If you want to be inclusive with the actual writing of your diversity goals, you might try these 4 Diversity tools.

25+ Diversity Goals Examples

Now, let’s have a closer look at the diversity goals for each company. It’s in alphabetical order so make sure you don’t miss the great ones at the end too! 🙂

Accenture

Diversity Goal: Create a gender-balanced workforce.

A top ranking global company on the Reuters Diversity & Inclusion Index, Accenture has set a diversity goal around creating a gender-balanced workforce by 2025.

source: The Diversity Super League: The 15 most inclusive employers (Retail Week, 22 May 2019)

Adidas

Diversity Goal: Investing funds supporting Black communities and diversity in hiring.

Adidas Global Head of Human Resources, Karen Parkins resigned after complaints about her strategy for addressing racial issues within the company. So, following her resignation, Adidas pledged to:

  • ensure a minimum of 30% of all new positions — internal and external — will be filled with Black and Latino talent.
  • invest $120 million toward US initiatives focused on ending racial injustice and supporting Black communities through 2025.

source: Adidas HR head resigns as company addresses diversity issues (CTV News, June 30, 2020)

Airbnb

Diversity Goal: Increase the percentage of women and underrepresented minorities in the US workforce.

TechCrunch reports that Airbnb has set 2 diversity goals for their workforce in the U.S. These goals are:

  • aiming for 20% of its U.S. workforce to be underrepresented minorities. So, this includes folks who self-identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latinx, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
  • increase the representation of women to 50% by the end of 2025.

source: Airbnb sets new diversity goals (source TechCrunch, December 15, 2020)

Amazon

Diversity Goal: Increase the number of women and Black employees in senior roles and also create a more inclusive workforce for retention of employees of underrepresented groups.

Amazon’s Senior Vice President of People eXperience and Technology, Beth Galetti, published a message to the global workforce in April 2021. The message was about the tech giant’s diversity goals for 2021.

Here’s a list of Amazon’s detailed diversity and inclusion goals to meet this year:

  • Inspect any statistically significant demographic differences in Q1 2021 performance ratings by VP team to identify root causes and, as necessary, implement action plans.
  • Inspect any statistically significant demographic differences in attrition and low performance actions by VP team on a monthly basis to identify root causes and, as necessary, implement action plans.
  • Retain employees at statistically similar rates across all demographics.
  • Build a scalable mechanism in Connections to inspect inclusion sentiment by demographic for all employees.
  • Ensure that 100% of Amazonians take company-wide required inclusion training.
  • Build scalable mechanisms that address new instances of non-inclusive terms in our code and document repositories or development tools.
  • For the second year in a row, double the number of U.S. Black employees at L8-L10 (Directors and VPs) year-over-year from 2020 numbers.
  • Increase hiring of U.S. Black employees at L4-L7 by at least 30% year-over-year from 2020 hiring. 
  • Increase the number of women at L8-L10 (Senior Principals, Directors, VPs, and Distinguished Engineers) in tech and science roles by 30% year-over-year.
  • Increase the number of U.S. Black software development engineer interns by at least 40%.
  • Reach 1.6 million underrepresented students globally through Amazon Future Engineer with real world-inspired virtual and hands-on computer science project learning. 

source: Amazon Pledges to Promote More Women, Black Employees (Bloomberg, April 14, 2021).

AT&T

Diversity Goal: Working with Black-owned businesses

AT&T’s Supplier Diversity team is dedicated to making a significant economic impact in the Black business community. Susan Johnson, EVP of Global Connections and Supply Chain said:

“Our commitment to ensuring that Black-owned businesses and other diverse businesses have the opportunity to work with AT&T is longstanding, sustainable and unwavering,”…

“Our commitment to these suppliers will continue beyond 2020; these are not short-term commitments. We will continue to work closely with all suppliers to foster economic growth and innovation within the communities we serve.”

source: AT&T says it is on track to meet its commitment to spend $3 billion with U.S. black-owned suppliers by the end of this year

Apple

Diversity Goal: Cash money support for racial justice.

Apple committed $100 million to the Racial Equity and Justice Initiative. CEO Tim Cook said that the:

“unfinished work of racial justice and equality call us all to account.”

Apple has also launched a new developer entrepreneur camp for Black developers.

source: 5 Companies That Came To Win This Week (CRN, June 12, 2020)

Best Buy

Diversity Goal: Fill 1/3 of corporate jobs with people of color and hire more women by 2025.

Best Buy has committed to hiring 1 Person of Color for every 3 new hires over the next 5 years and also to hire women to fill 1/3 of full-time, store-based roles.

CBS News also reports that:

“Part of Best Buy’s effort includes opening at least 100 so-called “Teen Tech Centers,” where teenagers from underserved communities can learn design, filmmaking, music production and programming. The $44 million will help fund scholarships for students of color who attend Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”

source: Best Buy wants 1 in 3 new corporate hires to be people of color (CBS News, December 9, 2020) & Best Buy commits $44M to diverse hiring, community engagement (HR Dive, December 16, 2020)

CBS

Diversity Goal: 50% of talent must be BIPOC and 25% of budget goes to BIPOC producers.

So, CBS reality tv shows are becoming more diverse thanks to the new diversity goals set by management for the 2021-22 seasons. According to Deadline:

“The network has introduced an edict that 50% of its casts for its unscripted shows must be Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) and it has committed that at least 25% of its annual unscripted development budget must go towards creators and producers that are BIPOC.”

source: CBS Sets Diversity Targets For Reality Casts; 50% Of Talent Must Be BIPOC & Commits 25% Of Unscripted Development Budget To BIPOC Creatives  (Deadline, November 9, 2020)

Citi

Diversity Goal: Increasing Black and female representation in leadership by 40%

Citi plans to:

“increase the representation of women in leadership positions to 40% by the end of 2021, up from 37% in 2018.”

and

“increase the representation of Black people in leadership roles to 8% in the same time frame, up from 6% in 2018.”

source: Citi’s head of diversity says the company is on track for 40% female leadership by the end of the year (Insider, September 23, 2021)

Diageo

Diversity Goal: Increase diversity in the global leadership team by 2025.

Diageo has over 40% female representation in the boardroom. They also set a goal to reach 40% female representation in other roles (below board and at the executive level) by 2025.

source: The Diversity Super League: The 15 most inclusive employers (Retail Week, 22 May 2019)

Expedia

Diversity Goal: Every employee has at least one inclusion goal.

Expedia’s Chief Inclusions Officer Melissa Maher was recently interviewed by Web in Travel about the company’s recovery plans, post-COVID, and diversity and inclusion goals. Maher said:

“Our CEO has  been very actively involved in helping lead this discussion, which has been great. And one of the really exciting things that he said to all of Expedia Group members last week is we’re in the process of goal setting. He said that he wants every single employee to have at least one inclusion goal.”

source: Expedia’s Melissa Maher Talks Recovery In Travel, Partnership With Hotels, and Diversity & Inclusion (Web in Travel July 8, 2020)

Facebook

Diversity Goal: Increase diversity in leadership and monetary support for Black-owned businesses.

CEO Sheryl Sandberg announced Facebook’s diversity goals in a recent blog. They include:

  • a 30% increase in the number of people of color in leadership positions over the next five years
  • $200 million to support Black-owned businesses and organizations

source: Here are tech companies’ plans for increasing diversity amid protests over racial inequality (MarketWatch, June 30, 2020)

Ferrara

Diversity Goal: Increase racial diversity in corporate and leadership roles.

In June 2021, Ferrara announced their commitment to new diversity goals. They include:

  • Advance people of color and women in corporate leadership. Ferrara is dedicated to a goal of 30% BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) representation in director-level and higher positions by 2024. Also, there’s another goal of women representing 50% of director-level and above positions by 2026.
  • Expand university recruitment. Ferrara is ramping up recruitment and engagement efforts to connect with students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).
  • Promote inclusive product marketing. Ferrara is committed to reflecting our consumers’ diversity in our innovation, brand strategy, and brand communications with multicultural representation in our insights, input from diverse stakeholders during campaign development, and increased partnerships with BIPOC content creators and agencies.
  • Boost philanthropy and foster economic equity. Ferrara will support local communities through annual donations, employee volunteering, and in-kind giving. Thus, the company will bolster BIPOC entrepreneurs and small business owners through business education, mentoring, and other resources to accelerate their growth.

source: Ferrara Sets New Goals for a Diverse Workforce from the Boardroom to the Facility Floor (PR Newswire, June 2, 2021)

General Motors

Diversity Goal: Creating an Inclusion Advisory Board to stay on track with diversity and inclusion best practices.

GM CEO Mary Barra is taking on the responsibility of keeping the company on track to reach its diversity goals. In a letter to GM employees, Barra said:

She would create an “inclusion advisory board” made up of both internal and external leaders, and setting near-, medium- and long-term goals related to diversity and inclusion.

source: GM CEO Mary Barra: ‘It’s my responsibility’ to ensure company changes following death of George Floyd (CNBC, June 9, 2020)

Google Parent Alphabet Inc.

Diversity Goal: Increased diversity inclusion and belonging in leadership and funding for related businesses.

Alphabet, Inc. parent company of Google, plans to:

“Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai promised to hire enough Black workers and managers to push Google’s numbers to 30% by 2025.”

source: Snowflake CEO Says Diversity Goal Is Secondary in Hiring Choices, Bloomberg, June 3, 2021

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Diversity Goal: Establish a Global Inclusion and Diversity Council & more diversity training for managers.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise established a global Inclusion and Diversity Council. So, the council will develop a detailed plan to ensure equal opportunities for all HPE employees. CEO Antonio Neri said following a company meeting for HPE’s 60,000 employees:

“Everyone deserves to live free of oppression and racism”…“We must use this moment to take a stand, to speak up on inclusion and to advocate for equity.”

HPE managers will also be required to attend diversity and inclusion training.

source: 5 Companies That Came To Win This Week (CRN, June 12, 2020)

Hewlett Packard, Inc.

Diversity goal: Achieve gender equality in leadership & tech and increase representation for racial/ethnic minorities.

HP announced 5 new diversity goals in May 2021. So, the tech company wants to reach these (what they call “ambitious” goals for diversity) by 2030:

1. Achieve 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030

2. Achieve greater than 30 percent technical women and women in engineering by 2030 

3. Meet or exceed labor market representation for racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S. by 2030 

4. Maintain higher than 90 percent rating on internal inclusion index for all employee demographics annually

5. Reach one million workers through worker empowerment programs by 2030 

source: HP Inc. Shares Ambitious 2030 Goals to Drive a More Diverse, Equitable and Inclusive Tech Industry (HP Press Center, May 21, 2021)

HP, Inc.’s CEO Enrique Lores said in a news release:

Diversity Goal: Double number of Black executives by 2025 & increase hiring % from underrepresented communities.

“Recent events have laid bare the systemic racism and deep inequalities that remain a stain on society, and it’s imperative for all companies to act with urgency on all fronts”

HP Inc. plans to double the number of Black and African-American individuals who are serving as executives by 2025 and continue to increase the growing percentage of hiring from underrepresented communities — including women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities.

source: 5 Things To Know About HP’s Latest Investments In Diversity And Sustainability (CRN, June 24, 2020)

Diversity Goal: Withhold fees for outside law firms that don’t meet diversity goals

According to Bloomberg Law, HP Inc.’s Chief Legal Officer, Kim Rivera, has had success with withholding legal fees for outside law firms that don’t meet diversity goals. The article from October 13, 2020, says HP Inc. has 95% now meeting the standards.

“Rivera’s legal department was one of the first to give financial teeth to diversity requests for outside counsel. The company’s initiative, implemented in phases starting in 2017, required most of its firms to staff at least one diverse attorney on HP matters or face a 10% cut in fees.”

Hilton

Diversity Goal: 50% diverse slate of candidates.

Hilton has seen mass layoffs due to COVID-19 and the VP of Diversity and Inclusion role was part of the cuts. But Chief Talent Officer Laura Fuentes says this will not stop Hilton’s movement towards reaching their diversity inclusion and belonging goals. Fuentes said:

“Hilton is “reverse recruiting” and advocating on behalf of its own furloughed and laid off employees to companies that are still hiring during the downturn. But it is also keeping its traditional recruiting channels open for when travel demand returns. The goal is to provide a 50 percent diverse slate of candidates for all open positions.”

source: Hilton’s Diversity Strategy Underscores Recruiting Efforts in a Time of Deep Job Cuts (Skift, July 6, 2020)

Intel

Diversity Goal: Increase hiring of women and underrepresented minorities.

Intel’s recent Corporate Responsibility Report says they plan to:

“increase the number of women in technical roles to 40% and double the numbers of women and underrepresented minorities in senior roles by 2030.”

source: Intel’s new diversity goals: Put women in 40% of technical posts by 2030 (CNET, May 14, 2020)

Kraft Heinz

Diversity Goal: Achieve gender parity within management positions globally by 2025.

In October 2021, Kraft Heinz announced their diversity goal to increase the representation of women in management from 37% to 50% by 2025.

The company is also:

“working to reach demographic parity in the countries where it operates by 2025. In the U.S., where more than half its employees live, the company said it aspires for people of color to represent 30% of the salaried employee population by 2025, from its current 24%.”

source: Kraft Heinz Outlines 2025 Diversity Plans (MarketWatch, Oct 14, 2021)

Levi Strauss & Co.

Diversity Goal: Make execs more diverse and interview 50% more people of color to stay in line with diversity and inclusion best practices.

Jeans maker Levi Strauss launched a new diversity plan. The plan will:

  •  fill the position of “head of diversity, inclusion, and belonging”
  • add an African American person to the board of directors
  • strive to have 50% of candidates interviewing for jobs be people of color
  • share its employee diversity data and subsequent updates
  • teach all employees about racial equity
  • hire from historically Black colleges and universities

source: Exclusive: Levi Strauss & Co. unveils diversity plans, pledges to appoint a black board member (Fast Company, June 16, 2020)

McDonald’s

Diversity Goal: At least 35% of leadership roles from underrepresented groups and 45% women in top ranks by 2025.

McDonald’s diversity goals for 2025 are aimed at upper-level leadership and director roles. The fast-food company’s top 2 goals are:

  • aiming for 35% of its senior-director and high-level leadership roles to be held by people from “historically underrepresented groups”
  • and increase from 6% of women in leadership to 45%

The company is also seeking “total gender parity” for leadership positions by the end of 2030.

source: McDonald’s sets targets to diversify its leadership, seeks gender parity by 2030 (CNBC, February 18, 2021)

Microsoft

Diversity Goal: Cash money to diversity and inclusion & increased diversity in management positions. And increase the # of Black leaders.

Microsoft’s corporate blog said the following in regards to company goals for diversity and inclusion:

  • adding $150 million to its diversity and inclusion investment
  • doubling the number of Black and African American people managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders in the United States by 2025

source: Here are tech companies’ plans for increasing diversity amid protests over racial inequality (MarketWatch, June 30, 2020)

“Microsoft said it would try to double the number of Black employees in senior and leadership positions.”

SOURCE: SNOWFLAKE CEO SAYS DIVERSITY GOAL IS SECONDARY IN HIRING CHOICES, BLOOMBERG, JUNE 3, 2021

Mozilla

Diversity Goal: Increase Black and Latinx hiring at all levels.

With an eye towards diversity and inclusion best practices, Mozilla plans to:

  • double the percentage of Black and Latinx representation of its 1,000-person U.S. staff
  • increase Black representation in the U.S. to 6% at the director level and up (including representation on the Mozilla and Mozilla Foundation boards)

Mark Surman, Executive Director of the Mozilla Foundation said:

“There is no question events of the past few weeks have underlined the need to focus more on racial justice. The collective push of the tech industry is promising and important, but we need to make sure we are collectively held accountable on moving the ball.”

source: Here are tech companies’ plans for increasing diversity amid protests over racial inequality (MarketWatch, June 30, 2020)

NBA

Diversity Goal: “Our goal is to move from a diversity reflex to an inclusion instinct. The NBA strives to cultivate a workplace in which everyone feels welcomed and empowered to bring their whole selves to work.”

Some stats, from Front Office Sports’ NBA Remains At Forefront of Sports’ Diversity and Inclusion Efforts:

“With its A+ mark in racial hiring, the NBA experienced rises in categories like assistant coaches of color, people of color in the league office, and players. Dating back to November 1, 2019, 45.8% of the league’s assistant coaches were people of color, indicating a 3.3% bump from the 2018-2019 campaign. At the league office, 39.4% of professional staff positions were held by people of color – the highest-ever percentage of people of color in these positions. As of July 22, 83.1% of the NBA’s players were people of color – a 1.2% rise from the 2019 Report Card…

Women held 40.3% of all professional positions in the league office”

NBCUniversal News Group

Diversity Goal: Reaching 50% diversity in the workforce.

NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde wants to increase diversity in front of and behind the camera. Starting with:

Setting a goal of having a 50% diverse work force across his division. Conde called the initiative the “50% Challenge,” and said “he wants the division to reflect the demographic trend in the country.”

source: NBCUniversal News Group chairman wants a 50% diverse work force (Los Angeles Times, July 7, 2020)

Netflix

Diversity Goal: Monetary support for Black community groups.

Netflix’s diversity and inclusion goals include:

putting “2% of its cash holdings, or up to $100 million initially, toward financial institutions and other groups “that directly support Black communities in the U.S.””

source: Here are tech companies’ plans for increasing diversity amid protests over racial inequality (MarketWatch, June 30, 2020)

Nike

Diversity Goal: Increase minority representation in leadership and tie diversity goals to executive compensation.

Nike released its diversity roadmap which includes  a few diversity goals to reach by 2025:

  • a 49.5% increase in female employees across the company
  • at least 29% increase in the U.S. VP leadership for racial and ethnic minorities

According to Retail TouchPoints:

“The retailer will enforce the Purpose 2025 Targets program by tying diversity, as well as environmental and ethical goals, to executive compensation for the first time.”

source: Nike Ties Executive Compensation to Reaching 29% Minority Representation in Leadership by 2025 (Retail TouchPoints, March 12, 2021)

Noodles & Company

Diversity Goal: Pledge to elevate and support a more inclusive workplace.

Noodles & Company joined 2,000+ other companies by taking the CEO Action pledge. The CEO Action pledge to:

“elevate and support a more inclusive workplace by cultivating environments that support open dialogue on complex and difficult conversations; implementing and expanding unconscious bias education and training; sharing best-known diversity and inclusion programs; and engaging the board of directors in the development and evaluation of inclusion and diversity strategies.”

Quote from company:

“Our goal is to make Noodles the best place to work in the industry, and for us, that starts with listening, learning, and acting. We have taken steps to build a company culture that is best-in-class for inclusion and diversity — taking the CEO Action Pledge is another important step toward reinforcing this commitment.”

Some interesting things that Noodles & Company do to encourage inclusion and diversity are:

  • Conducting regular listening forums across the company
  • Creating an internal Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Council
  • Creating an inclusion and diversity resource library
  • Offering benefits like surrogacy and adoption assistance, tuition reimbursement and assistance, & free mental health counseling

source: Noodles & Company Joins the CEO Action Pledge, Advancing Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion (The Daily Sentinel, March 17, 2021)

Pinterest

Diversity Goal: Add more female executives and workers of color by 2025.

By 2025 Pinterest vows to:

“increase the number of people it employs from underrepresented races and ethnicities to 20% from 12%.”

and

“increase the number of women in leadership positions to 36% from 30%.”

source: Pinterest Vows to Add More Female Executives, Workers of Color (Wall Street Journal, May 18, 2021)

Restaurant Brands International (Burger King, Popeyes et al)

Diversity Goal: 50%+ candidates are “demonstrably diverse, including race”

Quote from company:

“Starting immediately, I am making a commitment to ensure at least half of all final-round candidates interviewing for roles with our four RBI offices will be from groups that are demonstrably diverse, including race,” RBI CEO Jose Cil said in a company press release.

source: Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons doubling down on corporate diversity hiring (QSRWeb, June 29, 2020)

SAP

Diversity Goal: Marketing support for Black businesses and double African-American talent.

SAP is pledging to:

“double the representation of African-American talent in the U.S. over the next three years.” And introducing a new marketing program, “Spotlight Black Businesses,” to assist small, black-owned businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 and protests caused by social unrest.

source: Here are tech companies’ plans for increasing diversity amid protests over racial inequality (MarketWatch, June 30, 2020)

Sky

Diversity Goal: Increase ethnic diversity and representation

In June 2020, Sky announced a series of commitments to approve inclusion and diversity by 2025. Here are their diversity goals:

  • 20% of UK & Ireland employees from Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic background, with at least 1/4 being Black.
  • To have a leadership team that is 5% Black, and 20% Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic overall.

source: Sky sets ambitious 2025 target to increase its ethnic diversity and representation (January 21, 2021)

Snap

Diversity Goal: Increase underrepresented groups across the company by 2025.

Snap’s 2020 diversity report shows slow progress towards gender and racial diversity, but they’ve set diversity goals to push for improvement by 2025:

  • increase women in tech roles from 16.5 to 25%
  • increase underrepresented racial and ethnic groups from 18.7 to 20%
  • increase women and racial and ethnic groups in leadership an additional 30% each, from 13.7% and 17.4%

source: Snap diversity report shows it’s still mostly white and male (The Verge, April 29, 2021)

Starbucks

Diversity Goal: Increase the workforce by hiring people who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

Starbucks has set a diversity goal to add more diversity to its workforce by 2025. Along with having people of color represent 30% of corporate employees at all levels:

“the company is also aiming to have them occupy at least 40% of retail and manufacturing jobs at all levels by 2025”

source: Starbucks pledges to have 30% of corporate workforce identify as a minority by 2025 (CNBC, October 14, 2020)

 

SurveyMonkey

Diversity Goal: Achieve gender equity in the workforce by 2024.

SurveyMonkey’s diversity, equity, & inclusion page on their website says:

“Our 2024 goal is to achieve gender parity for males and females in our workplace, while also including representation from the gender non-conforming and non-binary community.”

The chart below helps visualize their diversity goals starting from 2019 through 2024.

surveymonkey_diversity_goals

source: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at SurveyMonkey (December 2020)

Target

Diversity Goal: Increase Black team members by 20% over the next 3 years.

Target’s Diversity Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Kiera Fernandez

Target has set a diversity goal to increase the % of its Black workforce. Target’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Kiera Fernandez also plans to provide training, mentorship, and leadership development to its Black team members. Fernandez said:

“The changes we’re making are going to have a meaningful impact on the careers of our Black team members and prospective team members. We know the support we have for our team helps extend our reach outside our walls, creating a ripple effect that impacts our guests and communities.”

Target’s new Black employment goals came from the company’s Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) committee. REACH is made up of a group of diverse senior leaders formed as a part of the fight against racial injustice in the United States.

Target’s diversity and inclusion goals are focused on 3 primary areas:

  1. Having a team that’s more representative of Target’s guests
  2. Providing an “inclusive experience” for all Target team members
  3. Investing in [diverse] suppliers, products and marketing

sources: Target plans to increase its Black workforce by 20% over the next 3 years (CNN, September 10, 2020); and Target DEI Goals interview with Target DEI Chief Kiera Fernandez by HRDive.

Tesla

Diversity Goal: Increase women in leadership by 2021.

The 2020 Tesla diversity report shares a breakdown of underrepresented groups in their workforce. At Tesla, women represent 21% of their U.S. workforce and 23% of all promotions. The Tesla workforce diversity report said:

“While women are historically underrepresented in the tech and automotive industries, we recognize we have work to do in this area. We are committed to working alongside companies in these industries to make improvements. We are taking active steps to increase our outreach to women and build an inclusive culture that supports their development and retention. Increasing women’s representation at all levels, especially in leadership, is a top priority in 2021.”

source: Tesla’s racially diverse workforce is led mostly by white men, internal report shows (TechCrunch, December 5, 2020)

Verizon

Diversity Goal: Verizon ties executives’ pay to diversity and inclusion goals

Verizon’s diversity goal from 2019 said:

“In order to receive the 5% of the short-term incentive award related to ESG metrics, the executives had to hit the following goals: have at least 60% of U.S.-based workforce comprised of minority and female employees; direct at least $5.2 billion of overall supplier spending to minority- and female-owned firms; reduce carbon intensity — the amount of carbon the business emits divided by the terabytes of data it transport over networks — by at least 10% compared to the prior year.”

source: Here’s the plan Verizon uses to tie executives’ pay to diversity and inclusion goals — and how other companies like Starbucks and Uber are following suit (Business Insider, November 18, 2020)

VF Corporation

Diversity Goal: Global gender parity & increasing BIPOC representation in the U.S.

VF’s 3rd annual Profile on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action (IDEA) outlines the company’s diversity goals:

“By 2030, VF intends to achieve gender parity at the director level and above globally, and 25% BIPOC representation in the U.S. at the director level and above. During fiscal year 2021, VF saw growth against both goals, with those who identify as women comprising 41% of the director and above population globally, and BIPOC associates representing 16% of the director and above population in the US.”

source: VF Corporation Releases Third Annual Profile on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Action (IDEA) (Business Wire, November 15, 2021)

VMWare

Diversity Goal: No hire unless an underrepresented group is interviewed

Quote from company:

“We’ve focused lots more on gender than race, and now we need to put emphasis on those areas together…Now we’re saying every position has to consider gender and race…”

source: No job-hiring process will end unless minority candidate is interviewed: VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger (CNBC, June 19, 2020)

West Coast Conference

Diversity Goal: Including at least 1 person from an underrepresented community in the interview process.

The West Coast Conference instituted the “Russell Rule,” which is an in-house made interview policy to promote people of color. The policy is named after NBA Hall of Famer and USF legend Bill Russell. Mercury News reported that:

“The conference’s hiring initiative will require each of its member schools, including Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara, Pacific and USF in the Bay Area and beyond, to follow new guidelines when hiring any head coach, full-time assistant coach, athletic director or senior administrator in the athletic department. Specifically, the league announced Monday, the final candidates must include at least one person of “an underrepresented community.””

source: WCC creates ‘Russell Rule’ to help diversity hiring in athletics (Mercury News, August 3, 2020)

Workday

Diversity Goal: Hiring and developing diverse talent, cultivating a culture of belonging, building inclusive products and technologies, and strengthening communities by 2023.

In 2020, Workday announced specific diversity goals around 4 key areas. And in May 2021, they reported on their progress so far. The chart below shows an increase in Black and and Latinx representation and more:

workday diversity goals

source: Our Commitments to Support Equity: An Update on Workday’s Progress (Workday, May 25, 2021)

Yelp

Diversity Goal: Match diversity of workforce based on community diversity %.

Yelp has set a diversity goal to match the percentage of employees from underrepresented ethnicities with the user base in each area across the country. For example, if an area is 50% Latinx, the Yelp employees in that area should be 50% Latinx.

source: Rob Kelly, CEO of Ongig (note: this was a diversity goal that a Yelp VP shared with Rob circa 2015 – it may have changed since then)

Yum! Brands

Diversity Goal: Increase representation of Black, Latinx, people of color and women among its executive and management ranks, franchisees and suppliers; and ensure Black, Latinx and diverse representation in leadership and account teams at Yum’s U.S. agencies.

Yum! Brands just announced a $100 million Equity and Diversity investment in their restaurants. Yum! Brands include top restaurant chains KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill. 

The news comes after Yum pledged $3 million to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, American Civil Liberties Union and other nonprofits fighting for social justice in Louisville earlier this month.

source: Taco Bell, KFC Parent Invests $100M To Fight Inequality  (Restaurant Business Online, June 25, 2020)

Airlines with Diversity Goals

Alaska Airlines

Diversity Goal: a more inclusive workforce by 2025

In 2021, Alaska Airlines has committed to at least a 30% increase in racial diversity of their leadership to reflect the diversity of their frontline employees by 2025.

Their 2 main diversity goals are geared towards culture and piblic leadership:

Culture: By 2025, we will increase our company’s “Inclusion Index Score” in our employee engagement survey by 10 points, reflecting our commitment to cultivate a truly inclusive culture where everyone feels like they belong. Our work will involve our Business Resource Groups, who play a critical role in helping our leaders to better support our people. Through DEI training, we will create awareness, educate and reinforce policies that support equity and inclusion.

Public Leadership: By 2025, we will help create career pathways for at least 175,000 young people. We will do this by supporting programs like UNCF, which empowers and enables opportunity through a lens of racial equity. Our employees have also asked us to lean into our values through public leadership. We will use our voice and platforms humbly, knowing that we continue to learn and grow in partnership with community-based organizations dedicated to education and racial equity.

source: Alaska Air

source: Alaska Air Group commits to a more inclusive workforce by 2025 (Alaska Airlines Blog, February 18, 2021).

United Airlines

Diversity Goal: 50% more pilots who are women or people of color in the next 10 years. 

A recent report on United’s diversity goal says:

“Our flight deck should reflect the diverse group of people on board our planes every day. That’s why we plan for 50% of the 5,000 pilots we train in the next decade to be women or people of color.”

The diversity goal has sparked some controversy. Many people support the efforts, but others not so much. Brigitte Gabriel tweeted her opposition:

United’s Aviate Academy aims to enroll the first 100 students in 2021 and scholarships are available from United and JPMorgan Chase ensuring “highly qualified, motivated, eligible applicants won’t be turned away for financial reasons.”

source: United Airlines Sparks Debate With Pledge to Diversify Pilot Staff (Newsweek, April 7, 2021) and United Sets New Diversity Goal: 50% of Students at New Pilot Training Academy To Be Women and People of Color (PR Newswire, April 6, 2021)

Financial Institutions & Services Firms with Diversity Goals

Bank of America’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Invest in economic opportunities for communities of color

In June 2020, Bank of America announced an investment in communities of color. The investment is going to:

  • healthcare
  • jobs for people of color
  • small businesses
  • affordable housing

source: Goldman Sachs Says It Will Invest $10 Billion To Support Black Women — Here’s How Other U.S. Banks Have Responded To Racial Justice Protests (Forbes, March 10, 2021)

BMO’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: The Zero Barriers to Inclusion 5-year (by 2025), diversity goals address gaps affecting Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, Latino, and LGBTQ2+ employees, customers, and communities.

  • Increasing representation of Black employees in senior leadership roles to 3.5% and 7% in Canada and the U.S., respectively
  • Increasing representation of People of Colour employees in senior leadership roles to 30% or greater in Canada and the U.S., respectively
  • Increasing representation of Latino employees in senior leadership roles to 7% in the U.S.
  • Sustaining our current gender equity position with a range of 40 to 60% representation in senior leadership roles across our organization
  • Increasing representation of Black and Latino interns and entry-level employees to 30% in the U.S., and ensuring 40% of student opportunities in Canada are directed to BIPOC youth
  • Increasing representation of Indigenous Peoples across our workforce in Canada to 1.6%
  • Increasing representation of persons with disabilities within a range of 5 to 7% of our workforce
  • Introducing an LGBTQ2+ representation goal of 3% of our workforce

Goldman Sachs’ Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Only take companies public with at least 1 diverse board member, more Black, Latino & women hires, and more women executives.

According to Yahoo! Finance, Goldman Sachs plans to:

  • Only take companies public with at least 1 diverse board member, with a focus on women in 2020. And at least 2 diverse board members by 2021.
  • Aim for half its new analysts and entry-level associates in the U.S. to be women, 11% to be Black, and 14% to be Latino.
  • Aim for 40% of its executives vice presidents to be women.
  • Aim for 7% of executives to be Black and 9% to be Latino.

source: Goldman Sachs CEO’s diversity advice: ‘Set very specific, aspirational goals’ (Yahoo! Finance, September 30, 2020)

Goldman Sachs 2021 Diversity Goals Investment for Black Women

In March 2021, Goldman Sachs announced it would invest $10 billion over the next 10 years towards businesses and programs benefiting Black women.

“Investments could include, for example, a company that reskills home-care workers, an industry that employs many Black women; a community-development financial institution in the Deep South; and a health center in a predominantly Black community of New Orleans.”

source: Goldman Sachs Unveils $10 Billion Push to Invest in Black Women (Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2021)

JPMorgan Chase’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Invest in promoting racial and ethnic equality in the U.S.

In October 2020, JPMorgan Chase announced its diversity goal of investing $30 billion towards initiatives to help Black and Latinx Americans over the next 5 years. The investment strategy includes providing 15,000 loans to small businesses in Black and Latinx communities equally $2 billion.

In February 2021, the bank revealed a new wave of investments to “lift up Black, Latinx, and other underserved communities.” The new $42.5 million fund named “Entrepreneurs of Color” will support “Black and brown” founders.

source: JPMorgan Chase announces $30 billion investment to promote racial equity in the US (Business Insider, October 8, 2020)

source: JPMorgan reveals the latest part of its $30 billion commitment to support Black and brown communities (Business Insider, February 25, 2021)

PwC’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Hire 10k Black and Latinx employeees over 5 years

In June 2021, PwC announces their commitment of $125 million that will prepare Black and Latinx students for business careers.

“We’re going get them ready for the workforce, to create internships, and training opportunities. Ten thousand will come to us, which is important, but we will be equally proud of the [other] 15,000 we’re going to help because that then gets to solving the broader societal problem.”

Tim Ryan, U.S. chair and senior partner — PwC

source: PwC promises to hire 10,000 Black and Latinx employees over 5 years (Fast Company, June 15, 2021)

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Donating to support BIPOC and committing more summer jobs to BIPOC youth.

RBC is increasing support for black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC). RBC said:

“Diversity and inclusion has been a cornerstone of our values for years. We have made progress against some of our goals, but there is more to be done”

RBC is donating millions of dollars to BIPOC, committing 40% of summer opportunities to BIPOC youth, establishing and measuring internship and new hire goals, and increasing Black and indigenous executive representation by 10%.

source: RBC boosts supports for Black, Indigenous, people of colour (HR Reporter, July 7, 2020)

Standard Chartered Bank’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Increase ethnic representation in UK and US senior leadership teams.

According to Business Wire, Standard Chartered Bank says:

Diversity and inclusion are embedded in the Bank’s values and are an inherent part of its brand and culture. Standard Chartered believes that its staff should reflect the diverse markets in which it operates.

The global bank has set diversity goals for its leadership team to meet by 2025. The table below shows a comparison of 2020 vs. 2025 targets.

Standard_Chartered_Sets_Senior_Leadership_Diversity_Targets_Across_UK_and_US___Business_Wire

source: Standard Chartered Sets Senior Leadership Diversity Targets Across UK and US (Business Wire, December 14, 2020)

Wells Fargo’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: Doubling Black leadership and diversifying the operating committee.

Wells Fargo operating committee members will be evaluated annually on how they have increased the inclusion and representation of diverse employees and it will have an impact on their pay packages. CEO Charlie Scharf

“rolled out goals including doubling Black leaders at the firm — currently 6% of senior management — within the next five years, and creating a new diversity and inclusion position reporting directly to the CEO. He said he’ll add more Black people to the operating committee, a process he sees as being hindered by Wells Fargo’s “unique” regulatory and control issues.”

source: Wells Fargo Ties Senior Executive Pay to Improving Diversity (Bloomberg, June 16, 2020)

Law Firms with Diversity Goals

DLA Piper’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goal: More partners who are women and from underrepresented groups.

International law firm, DLA Piper, recently announced their diversity goals to meet by 2025 and 2030. Here are the firms 3 diversity goals:

  • 30% of all partners to be women by 2025
  • Double the percentage of women in the partnership to at least 40% by 2030
  • Half of all future internal partner promotions to come from under-represented groups

source: DLA Piper sets diversity and inclusion goals for International partnership (Lexology, March 23, 2021)

Companies that are Proud of their Diversity Goals #’s

Here are a few other companies that are proud of their diversity and inclusion goals. We found these diversity stats in the Wall Street Journal. WSJ reported that:

“These disclosures are voluntary but nudged by a new Securities and Exchange Commission regulation, along with investor interest.”

  • Chipotle — 38% of the U.S. workforce is Latinx
  • PepsiCo. and Mondelez International  — both reported that around 40% of global managers are women
  • Cummins — 50% of executives are women
  • Tyson Foods — 25% of the U.S. workforce is Black
  • Colgate-Palmolive — 40% of executives are women
  • Walmart — About 25% of officer roles are held by people of color — including 8.42% held by Black or African-American employees.

(source: The Wall Street Journal, March 1, 2021 and Walmart says rising number of women, people of color are in leadership roles April 26, 2021)

If you are interested in other diversity and inclusion statistics, check out our blog 6 Examples of Employers with High Diversity and Inclusion Statistics.

20 companies join the “25×25” diversity goals initiative

In February 2021, Silicon Valley Leadership group hosted its first DIversity Forward event. At the event these 20 companies committed to a 25×25 pledge:

  • Alaska Airlines
  • Bay Area Council
  • Equilar
  • Facebook
  • Flex
  • Foothill De Anza College
  • Listo
  • Lumentum
  • NAACP (California & Hawaii)
  • Santa Clara University
  • San Francisco 49ers
  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • Silicon Valley Bank
  • Silicon Valley Leadership Group
  • Stanford Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital
  • SunPower
  • Twitter
  • United Airlines
  • Western Digital
  • Zoom

What is the 25×25 pledge? The initiative is challenging companies to set diversity goals to reach by 2025.

  • setting a goal to increase representation in leadership by of filling 25% of executive positions with hires from underrepresented groups
  • pledge that there will be at least a 25% increase of underrepresented individuals in leadership roles

source: 20 Companies Sign on to 25×25 Inclusion Initiative at First SVLG Diversity Forward Summit (The Associated Press, February 19, 2021)

Just to recap, a company can increase diversity and inclusion in the workforce by:

  • Setting % goals on candidates, interviews and hires.
  • Focusing on diversity in leadership
  • Committing to D&I training
  • Spending more with diverse suppliers
  • Creating a diversity council
  • Making cash commitments to good causes

…but I look forward to finding many more examples of diversity goals. I’ll add them here as I find them!

Diversity Goals: 2023 Update

This 2023 is a short list of new companies with DEI goals or DEI objectives for 2023 and beyond:

Exploding Kittens’ Diversity Goals

Diversity Goals: Inclusive Management training for their managers and leaders. With an eye on these diversity goals:

  • They partnered with Vaya Consulting
  • They’ll put in place a DEI manager this April 2023
  • They’ll use Culture Amp to gather employee feedback 

Lisa Boatman, Exploding Kitten’s head of people, said:

“To execute this, we’ve partnered with leading DEI and workplace transformation expert Nicole Sanchez from Vaya Consulting. Nicole will lead this training throughout three 75-minute sessions and will cover everything from how to effectively build trust and psychological safety to how to show up as both a coach and an ally to your team members.”

Source: How Companies are Driving their DEI Efforts Forward in 2023  

Coca-Cola’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goals: Coca-Cola has three main diversity goals:

  • Mirror our Markets
  • Equity for All
  • Inclusivity

Coca-Cola says:

“It’s our ambition by 2030 to have women hold 50% of senior leadership roles at the company and in the U.S. to have race and ethnicity representation reflect national census data at all levels.”

Source: Coca-Cola Company

Reddit’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goals: This 2023, Reddit is focused on expanding their existing employee experiences, and this includes:

  • Helping leaders create inclusive team structures and strategies 
  • Adding educational tools and resources to employees’ DEI toolkits
  • Creating opportunities for peer-to-peer moments and learning and building support and fairness throughout the employee lifecycle

To do this, Reddit will focus on educating the more extensive employee base and smaller, intact groups. They’ve also made investments in historically Black colleges and universities speaker tours. They’re also doubling their efforts in their inclusive leadership program.

Christina Shareef, Head of Emerging Talent and Diversity, says:

“Our goal with this refreshed approach and more focused efforts is to increase employee engagement and help us to create personalized solutions to encourage specific outcomes for each of these groups, as opposed to a blanket approach.”

Source:  How 4 Companies are Advancing DEI in 2023

Achieve’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goals: Their goal this 2023 is to continue and advance their six Employee Resource Groups (ERG). Their ERGs represent LGBTQ+, veterans, Latinx, Black and African American, Asian American and Pacific Islander, and women’s leadership.

Kingsley Forde, Director for Diversity and Inclusion for Achieve, says of this goal:

“Our employees are why we decided to ensure our ERGs are a 2023 priority! Our DEI initiatives are focused on our employees unlocking their full potential and accepting each person as an individual with different experiences, perspectives and voices.”

Source:  How 4 Companies are Advancing DEI in 2023

Hydro’s Diversity Goals

Diversity Goals: One of Hydro’s goals this year is to increase the gender balance in the company by:

  • Reaching 25% female employees and leaders in 2025. They had achieved 20% of female employees goal in 2021 
  • Getting 25 % for women leaders by 2025. They reached 18% of this goal in 2021.
  • Getting 35% for women employees across white collar staff positions. They achieved 27% of this goal in 2021.

Hydro says this about diversity:

“We have a broad definition of diversity in Hydro. We believe it encompasses both primary characteristics (what you cannot influence), such as gender, race, color, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, affectional orientation, personality, and secondary factors (what you can influence), including education, work experience, skills, language, geography, communication style, and beliefs.”

Source: Hydro Annual Report 2022

How do you Set Goals for Balanced Diversity?

When it comes to setting goals for balanced diversity, it’s important to keep things clear and achievable. We all want to create an inclusive environment where diverse talents can thrive, right? So, let’s talk about how to make that happen.

The first step is to understand the different groups within your workforce. We’re talking about gender identity, cultural diversity, different backgrounds—you name it. Take a look around your workplace. Do you see people from various backgrounds, cultures, and age groups? Embracing these differences is the first step towards building diverse teams.

Now, let’s talk about setting those smart goals

Smart stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. It’s a great way to ensure your goals are on point and can actually be achieved. Think about what you want to accomplish in terms of diversity. Do you want to increase the representation of minority groups in managerial positions? Or maybe you want to create a more inclusive work environment by recognizing religious holidays and accommodating diverse cultural practices.

Next, it’s time to develop an action plan. This means outlining the steps you’ll take to reach your diversity goals. Consider implementing DEI programs, providing unconscious bias training, conducting diversity audits, and offering professional development opportunities that cater to employees from different backgrounds. Remember, meaningful change takes time and effort, so be patient but persistent.

Don’t forget to involve your employees in the process. Employee surveys, focus groups, and regular check-ins are the most effective ways to gather feedback and make adjustments along the way. After all, they’re the ones who will ultimately benefit from a more diverse and equitable workplace.

Recently, there’s been a lot of focus on workforce diversity goals, and that’s good news! Companies are realizing the importance of creating an equitable workplace where everyone has equal opportunity. But it’s not just about good intentions; it’s about taking action and making real progress.

How to Achieve the Set Inclusion and Diversity Goals?

So, you’ve set your diversity goals, but now comes the fun part: actually achieving them! It’s all about taking action and making meaningful changes in your workplace. Let’s dive into how you can make it happen.

The first step is to develop a solid action plan. This means breaking down your goals into manageable steps and assigning responsibilities. Think about what specific actions you can take to foster an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and respected for their unique contributions.

One great way to promote diversity and inclusion is by building diverse teams. Another important aspect is providing professional development opportunities that cater to employees from diverse backgrounds. This could include workshops, training sessions, and mentorship programs designed to help employees grow and succeed in their careers.

Don’t forget about unconscious bias training. 

This is crucial for helping employees recognize and address their own biases, ensuring fair treatment for everyone in the workplace. So, by fostering a culture of awareness and inclusivity, you can create a more equitable workplace where everyone has equal opportunity to succeed.

Employee surveys are also a valuable tool for gathering feedback and measuring progress. Regular check-ins allow you to track your efforts and make adjustments as needed. Remember, achieving diversity and inclusion goals is an ongoing process that requires commitment and dedication.

WHY I WROTE THIS

We’re passionate (here at Ongig) about eliminating biased job descriptions (race, gender, age, and disability). Ongig’s Text Analyzer helps grow diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace. Click our demo request button if you’d like to learn more.

by in Diversity and Inclusion