Walmart donates $ 14 million as part of pledge to promote racial equity

In the wake of the George Floyd protests, Walmart has pledged to promote diversity within its own ranks and to contribute more than $ 100 million over five years to combat systemic racism across the country.

The company gave an update on the effort on Monday. Walmart and its foundation will distribute the first $ 14.3 million to 16 non-profit organizations. The awards go to groups that address racial inequalities in different ways, such as teaching color communities about the Covid-19 vaccines, reducing student debt at historic black colleges and universities, and providing Internet access and technology to children who going to school. distance.

Walmart is one of many companies that have promised to throw away its money and weight after tackling racial differences following the murder of Floyd. As the country’s largest employer and retailer, its actions are nevertheless of greater importance. Doug McMillon, CEO of the company, also leads the Business Roundtable, a powerful corporate voice made up of many of the country’s most prominent CEOs.

When the company made its first promise in June, McMillon acknowledged that corporations – including Walmart – need to do more than just write checks. He said the business would also do better within its four walls by recruiting and supporting different talent.

Black employees make up about 21% of Walmart’s 1.5 million U.S. staff members, according to the most recent report on diversity and inclusion. However, the diversity is fading in the top ranks of Walmart. About 12% of the company’s executives and 7% of its officers are black.

Walmart has appointed longtime employee Kirstie Sims to lead the Center for Racial Equality, which will focus on inequalities in four key areas: finance, healthcare, education and criminal justice.

Sims, a Arkansas resident, started working at the wholesale retailer as a way to pay off student loans and plans to switch to the healthcare industry. At Walmart, however, she said she’d discovered she can build a career of more than twenty years and advance to leadership positions – something she hopes will enable other employees, including other black women. Prior to her new role, she was senior director of global ethics and compliance at Walmart.

Walmart has made other changes in recent months to promote racial equity. It will share a diversity and inclusion report twice a year, instead of annually. It will work with the country’s largest historic black university, North Carolina A&T State University, to increase the number of black college graduates starting in highly sought-after fields. It opened two new Walmart Health locations in Chicago in November, offering cheap medical appointments. It also signed on to the One Ten Coalition, a group of American companies that promises to train, hire and promote one million Black Americans over the next decade.

Sims said Walmart is also looking at how its business practices can make a difference. For example, it could expand access to affordable medical care in needy communities by opening Walmart Health locations, elevating black-owned businesses by using more than providers, and giving job seekers a second chance to re-enter society after engaging with the criminal justice system.

“Progress is slow at times, but with the work and the strength and dedication behind it, we are going to make change,” she said.