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- The plan is aimed at advancing equality in employment, finance, education, health, housing and the justice system.
- Walmart’s Doug McMillon, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon are just some of the more than 200 CEOS who are members of Business Roundtable.
- “Every American has been challenged by the events of this year but not equally; communities of color are bearing a disproportionate burden, widening an already large racial divide in America,” Business Roundtable said in its report.
Hundreds of executives that run the largest companies in America have rolled out a far-ranging plan aimed at advancing racial equity and justice in the U.S.
Business Roundtable — an association of more than 200 CEOS that includes JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos and Walmart’s Doug McMillon — released a report on Thursday detailing a series of new corporate initiatives and policy recommendations to tackle systemic racism in employment, finance, education, health, housing and the justice system.
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“Americans have faced multiple crises in 2020 – a global pandemic that has killed hundreds of thousands, an economic recession with high unemployment and nationwide unrest over continued killings of unarmed Black men and women,” the report states.
“Every American has been challenged by the events of this year but not equally; communities of color are bearing a disproportionate burden, widening an already large racial divide in America,” the report said.
The plan includes initiatives to expand collaboration between corporations and historically Black colleges and universities, to support Black-owned businesses and to ensure Black Americans have better access to high quality jobs by helping to alleviate student debt. The group is also advocating for publicly disclosing diversity metrics and has committed to establish pay equity at their businesses.
The group is looking to provide $1 billion for community lending institutions by 2025 that are Black or Latino-led and serve those communities, and has set a goal of producing 200,000 affordable units by 2025 in mixed income communities at a cost of $30 billion.
The group is also lobbying for an increase in the federal minimum wage, police reforms, better access to education and childcare among many other initiatives.
“These longstanding systemic challenges have far too often prevented access to the benefits of economic growth and mobility for far too many, and a broad and diverse group of Americans is demanding change,” Doug McMillion, president and CEO of Walmart, said in a statement.
“It is our employees, customers and communities who are calling for change, and we are listening – and most importantly – we are taking action,” he added.
Following the death of George Floyd in May, which sparked widespread protests and demands for racial equality, the association in July outlined proposals for federal policing reform legislation and called on Congress to pass a bipartisan bill.
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