One year later: how companies have acted on $50B worth of racial equity pledges

Exactly one year ago... George Floyd was murdered, leading to protests for racial justice across the US —  and a nation-wide reckoning over race and policing. For corporate America, silence was no longer an option. From Apple's Tim Cook to Goldman's David Solomon, CEOs spoke about the need to better address racial disparities, both in society and in their own companies. Mentions of “systemic racism” at company events spiked to 300+ last quarter, up from nearly zero the year before. Now, we're looking at what companies have actually done.

Pledge vs. reality... Since Floyd’s death, American companies have pledged $50B to racial equity initiatives — Chase alone pledged $30B. Update: only ~$250M has so far been spent or committed to specific initiatives, according to Creative Investment Research. Pledges included donations to civil rights orgs, investments in communities of color, and internal diversity initiatives.

• Goldman started sharing detailed demographic data in January, revealing that just 49 of its 1.5K senior execs and managers are Black. Black Americans hold only 3% of senior roles in companies with 100+ employees.
• Lyft, Levi's, and Verizon conducted pay equity audits, saying they found no systemic pay differences between ethnicities. Only 31 of the 100 largest US companies are analyzing how equitably they pay employees of different races and ethnicities.
• Chase and other major banks will reportedly give credit cards to people with no credit score, as part of a gov-backed initiative to increase credit access to underserved communities. The plan was launched after Floyd's death.
• Peloton recently announced its portfolio of partners for its four-year, $100M investment pledge to fight racial injustice.