By Germaine Hunter, VP – Inclusion & Diversity, The Clorox Company
Oh 2020. What a year. But for the optimists among us, there’s an opportunity in every challenge. For Clorox, 2020 gave us opportunity to live up to our purpose like never before. “We champion people to be well and thrive.” That’s what we’ve strived to do since our founding in 1913 — to have a positive impact, support our communities and stand for what’s right.
When the sparks of racial tension exploded again in June 2020, we knew it was time to step it up and do more than we ever had in the past. It was time to unequivocally, and publically, state: We are against racism, inequality and injustice, and we must and will do more to champion the Black community and all people of color.
Supporting our communities and doing more
For decades, we’ve focused on supporting cultural arts, K-12 education, STEM, and literacy and leadership programs in our communities, including Oakland and the Atlanta, GA, area where we’ve operated for 70+ years and now have a large manufacturing hub.
All great work, and still not enough.
So in 2020, we committed to do more to make an immediate and lasting impact for Black people. We made an initial $2.5 million donation that focused on Black businesses, Black youth and criminal justice reform. Our executives each committed to volunteering with organizations that fight for equal rights and equity. We also partnered with our employee resource groups (ERGs), and asked them to identify and donate a total of $500,000 from The Clorox Company Foundation to local organizations that support communities of color and racial justice.
And we’re committed to doing more for our communities in the years ahead.
Holding ourselves accountable
One of the things we say at Clorox is “It starts with me.” We want lasting, positive changes in the world, and we know it starts with each us doing our part to build an inclusive and diverse community, within and outside of Clorox. We want everyone to feel respected, seen and heard and to have the space to stretch, grow and do their best work.
So we’ve made Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) a formal and important part of our IGNITE Strategy. We’ve set goals on pay equity and I&D targets. We’ve enhanced our public disclosures, including a demographic breakdown of U.S. workforce. Internally, we have monthly Cup of Understanding discussions on challenging I&D-related topics, and we’re gearing up for our fourth round of bias awareness programs in 2021.
We’ve also regularly featured live, companywide Q&As with Black leaders from other companies and organizations to help push our thinking. In October 2020, we had the pleasure of talking with civil rights leader Dr. Clarence Jones for a conversation about the current racial justice movement in the U.S. He reminded us to stay true to our values and to keep serving each other and our communities.
Always more to do on this journey
We know the work we’re doing around inclusion and diversity matters deeply – to our people, to our communities, to the millions who depend on our products. With I&D, as with so many things in life, it’s not about “arriving.” It’s about being on the journey, pushing for progress and bringing people along with us. We’re humbled to serve and excited to be part of championing all people to be well and thrive every day.
