By Eric Cevis, President, Verizon Partner Solutions, Verizon
In 2020, the world’s economy, global health, working from home and social justice were some of the major topics being discussed both at the dinner table and in the virtual conference room. Social justice has been on the agenda for many companies including Verizon.
Eric Cevis, President of Verizon Partner Solutions (Verizon Global Wholesale), shared his thoughts on some of the ways he believes businesses can support social justice through listening, learning, acting and improving, “Verizon has been putting its words into action with respect to the company’s involvement in positive change on the social justice front. For example, five out of the ten Verizon board members are women or people of color. Also, in 2020 Verizon committed ten million dollars to aid seven different organizations dedicated to equality and social justice, including the Rainbow Push Coalition and the NAACP.”
Listen
Verizon’s embracing of diversity includes the company’s provision of the space for employees to celebrate each other’s differences via its Employee Resource Groups (ERGs).
Eric notes, “There are a total of ten ERGs, including ADVANCE (Advocates for Disability, Accessibility, Neurodiversity and Caregiver Empowerment), VALOR (Veterans and Advocates Leading the Organization Responsibly), and BOLD (Black Originators Leaders and Doers), of which I am an advisory council member. The ERGs provide employees a place to have conversations about diversity.”
When Eric was asked how businesses can best get involved in social justice, he responded, “It all begins with encouraging and supporting the conversation around social justice. It is important to first listen. Then, you can move into learning. Once that groundwork is set, determine how to take measurable action and see what improvements can be made along the way.”
Learn
Eric shares, “Sometimes just having the conversation is just the right start to making a positive change. I took the opportunity to have a great discussion with Sam Evans of Delta Partners to talk about the ITW Global Leaders Forum (GLF) initiative to help the telecommunications sector drive for a more equal workplace. I also published an article on the Verizon Partner Solutions website entitled ‘Why Diversity Matters in the Digital Economy’ because I think it is important to illustrate to businesses that doing good in business is also good for business.”
Eric continues, “As a member of the GLF, I have participated in panel discussions about gender and racial equity, giving me better insight into some of the challenges the industry faces. Then, I share these insights with my team.”
Act
Donating time or money to community outreach programs is a way businesses and individuals can support positive movement in social justice. For example, mentoring young people in lower income communities, even if connecting virtually, can go a long way. Having one conversation with a student has the potential to change a young person’s trajectory in life to head towards an even better outcome. You can also increase outreach and diverse hiring, take training on unconscious bias, develop a pipeline of diverse leaders and find support groups.
Eric notes, “In 2020, I helped create a scholarship for the advancement of marketing and sales for students at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. With this financial assistance, my hope is that this scholarship program will provide an additional avenue for diverse talent to become active in the industry.”
Improve
Companies have the ability to positively impact social justice while moving business forward. As global citizens, we will all need to do our part.
Eric shares his final thoughts, “Changing the world of work for the better requires embracing diversity of thought, of opinion, of age, of gender and of race. Our success rests in the hands of those invested in moving forward together toward a more positive future.” For those who want to start seeing the positives in their own lives, they can delve into topics like choking, sleep, spiritual meaning.
