Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) 2023 Year in Review
In this blog
As we wrap up another year, we are offered the opportunity to reflect on where we've been and look ahead to where we want to go in our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging journey. This year marked a major milestone as we completed our first full DEIB strategic planning cycle (2021-2023). While WWT has embraced many aspects of DEIB since the organization was founded, we began our formal program in 2021. With the completion of this cycle, we can measure our progress thus far and make appropriate adjustments as we look to the future in our efforts to continue to make WWT a Great Place to Work for ALL.
2023 brought a key change to the way we represent the program, with the addition of "belonging." During our DEIB Summit in July, we formally announced belonging as a strategic element of our program, one that has always been present, but which we are now integrating more intentionally.
Below is an encapsulation of our DEIB efforts in 2023. This is not an exhaustive account of the work done this year; the efforts of individuals and teams across our organization extend well beyond what is represented in this overview.
DEIB programs
Listening sessions
WWT continued to host a regular cadence of listening sessions with employees and executive leadership. In 2023, 100 sessions were hosted virtually, with sessions available for all time zones, in addition to in-person sessions held on-site at our Edwardsville warehouse locations. Our executive team shared weekly feedback, and additional program ideas were often developed and recommended based on the learnings from these sessions.
Psychological safety is a critical component of belonging, and WWT works to ensure psychological safety for all employees. Through surveys and listening sessions, WWT identified the need to address issues related to psychological safety with employees who identify as having a disability. A large part of that feedback pertained to requesting an accommodation. To address this feedback, WWT created an action plan, which included simplifying and increasing awareness around the process of requesting an accommodation and hiring a dedicated Accommodation Specialist. The action plan outcomes were communicated during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October.
First annual DEIB program survey
The first annual company-wide DEIB survey to the WWT employees closed on 3/24/2023. We were pleased to receive affirming and detailed feedback about where the program is doing well and where we have improvement opportunities.
- 8695 employees received the survey
- 3155 employees completed the survey
- 36% of total employees participated in the survey (the national average for employee survey completion is 25-60%)
WWT's inaugural DEIB Summit
WWT hosted its inaugural DEIB summit with the theme "Driving Progress: The future of DEIB at work." More than 200 WWT employees and colleagues from all over the globe tuned into a day of learning with guest speakers from UKG, Google, KPMG, Cisco, Enterprise, Ameren and others.
The feedback was tremendous from those who attended both in person and virtually. Multiple panel discussions were hosted by our DEIB Advisory Council (Bob Ferrell, Ann Marr and Erika Schenk). Breakout sessions were also hosted by Katrina Scott and Sabrina Townsend. Networking opportunities were available throughout the day in addition to an onsite storytelling booth. A special thank you to the Marketing Team for a successful day.
DEIB Strategic Plan
The DEIB Strategic Plan for 2021-2023 closed out this year with many wins, including:
- Establishing a formal DEIB program office under the leadership of Bob Ferrell
- Tracking and trending the hiring of diverse talent
- The development of multiple ERGs
- Expanding Supplier Diversity spend
- A focus on how DEIB-focused efforts can further support and expand the business.
In Q1 2024, the next phase of the company-wide strategic plan for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging will launch with a new focus on Mental Health and continued development in the areas of Workforce Development, Business Impact and Community Engagement. Detailed action plans will accompany the strategic focus areas to provide additional clarity and direction for the plan.
Employee resource groups
ERGs continue to be one of WWT's most rewarding employee engagement activities. In 2023 WWT announced an eighth employee resource group to the program. This group will focus on "rising professionals," individuals who are new to WWT, new to their role, new leaders, those interested in growing in their role, and allies and mentors. This group will centralize many of the leadership and mentorship efforts the ERG program has embraced.
Each year our ERGs focus their activities on the needs of their members, workforce, business impact and community engagement. The leaders of the ERGs and their various committees provide outstanding programming throughout the year that is made available in-person and virtually for employees company wide. Here are a few highlights from 2023:
Ohana (Asian and Pacific Islander ERG) kicked the year off with a Lunar New Year celebration that encompassed the employees from the Northern California, St. Louis, Singapore and China offices.
For the first time, Ohana hosted a live event with programming happening simultaneously in multiple offices. The rest of the year was spent with a celebration of Heritage Month in May including a panel discussion and May of Caring events in STL and the Bay area. Finally, the Diwali celebration at GHQ continued to be a well-attended event and an opportunity for our WWT community to learn more about this significant celebration known as "the festival of lights."
SHADES (Black Network ERG) Hosted their annual Black History Month celebration to include a fireside chat with Larry Miller, Chairman of the Jordan Brand where he shared his remarkable story of resilience, perseverance and reinvention emphasizing the importance of second chances. During the Juneteenth celebration, in collaboration with the LEAD ERG, WWT's Shay Gillespie hosted a virtual chat with Beth-Anne Bygum, CISO of Acziom, where she discussed her journey as the highest-ranking woman inside of a global organization. Finally, Aaron Jackson was selected to lead SHADES after the long-standing leader left WWT for a new opportunity.
SHADES continues to celebrate the annual BEYA STEM awards that in 2023 honored nine WWT employees:
- Tony Asante, Principal Solutions Architect
- Michael Ferrell, Associate Consulting Systems Engineer
- Aaron Freidenberg, Director, Advanced Technology Center
- Marlan Hardie, Chief Digital Officer of Global Service Providers
- James Hogan, Consulting Systems Engineer
- Aliya Lyons, Analyst, Consulting Services
- Tujuania Reese, Associate General Counsel
- Eric Shannon, Infrastructure Modernization Senior Practice Manager
- Chris Webber, Strategic Engagement Manager, Strategic Resourcing
LEAD (Women's ERG) celebrated International Women's Day with a guest speaker, Dr. Adrienne Partridge, who addressed "pleasing" behaviors that are common for women and the connection to the nervous system and body-based strategies to combat this behavior. LEAD continued to host their annual mentoring circles, a collaborative Allyship event with all of the other ERGS that had more than 80+ participants this year.
PRIDE (LGBTQIA+ERG) kicked off Pride Month by supporting local St. Louis non-profits that provide resources to individuals in need. Collaboration with partners and coalitions occurs all year long with participation in multiple community service opportunities. Listening sessions focused on legislative changes that impact this community were held in order to share resources and listen to employee concerns. Virtual meetups were ongoing to help employees stay engaged. Finally, the "Barbie" movie event held with LEAD was truly a fun event in support of the American Cancer Society.
HEARD (Hispanic/Latinx ERG) went through a leadership change this year with long-time leader Rick Pina transitioning away from WWT fulltime and Jay Santiago bridging the gap until the new leader was found, Gina Castro. Jay continued to support HEARD by planning the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, which included panel discussions to include WWT Leaders and employees from our Brazil, Mexico and brand-new Costa Rica offices.
WWT ABLE (Disabilities Enabled ERG) continued to foster their relationship with Duo Dogs by bringing the touch therapy dogs to visit employees in GHQ and Edwardsville and sponsoring Duo Dash. WWT was privileged to also host Starkloff's annual Disability Employment Summit at our Global Headquarters in St. Louis. Starkloff is a St. Louis- based workforce, workplace disability advisor. The summit brought together thought leaders, industry experts, and change-makers to share actionable strategies for promoting disability inclusion in the workplace. Panel discussions held on Neurodiversity rounded out the campaign to build additional awareness for employees.
Finally, our VETS (Veterans ERG) conducted the first-ever flag replacement ceremonies at NAIC 2 and NAIC 4 this year. In addition, a riveting panel of individuals who were present during 9/11 spoke about their experiences from that day. The ongoing support of the non-profit "My Warrior's Place" has given WWT an opportunity to further provide direct community impact.
Regional DEIB programs
While APAC has been very active in DEIB efforts over the years, this year was their inaugural year for launching a formal DEIB program. The APAC program was aligned with the Corporate DEIB program to include a focus on Workforce and Community Impact. In addition the ERG program was also launched. The largest sect of employees are located in the Singapore and India offices so Yvonne Lee and Savitha Gowda were selected to help champion these efforts within the region.
The Singapore office celebrated Racial Harmony Day an annual event held on July 21 to commemorate the communal riots of 1964 and teach students the importance of maintaining racial and religious harmony in Singapore's multicultural and multi-ethnic society. Launched in 1997 as part of the National Education program, this day is to remind us of the importance of maintaining peace and understanding across communities.
India
India focused much of their inaugural efforts in the community this year. The team there focused their efforts on employee volunteerism and was able to collect donations of more than 7K. Blanket and food drives and career discovery days are just a few of the activities led by our India employees. They closed out the year by celebrating Diwali "festival of lights" across the offices in India.
EMEA
This region of the DEIB program continues to expand year over year. While this year offered multiple opportunities for the program to develop, there was an intentional effort to develop our first EMEA Community Impact program. WWT sponsored a stem-related curriculum for a local school. We selected this school in the Mandeville area as it serves a wonderfully diverse community including language, ethnic diversity and socioeconomic status.
Business development
The Diversity BD traveled to London and Amsterdam to meet the cohort for the launch of the UK Apprenticeship Program. The trip to Amsterdam was to participate in the European Supplier Diversity Project Conference & Awards Gala. The conference gave the team an opportunity to learn from other corporate leaders in EMEA important nuances for expanding and further developing supplier development programs in that region while also connecting with other EMBs.
2023 NMSDC Conference
This year's National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDCHQ) Annual Conference & Exchange in Baltimore, MD, was a great success. The conference was made up of Corporations, MBEs and other organizations that are all focused on the mission of Closing the Equity Gap. WWT employees participated on multiple panels sharing our knowledge and experience on how MBEs can expand their global reach.
Simultaneously Dave Steward, Founder and Chairman of the WWT Board received the Abe Venable Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA). Bob Ferrell, EVP DEIB accepted this award on Dave's behalf.
2023 WWT Championship in Cabo
WWT CEO Jim Kavanaugh hosted a panel discussion with Michael Bush, CEO, Great Place to Work, and Alan Murray, CEO, Fortune. The conversation emphasized the importance of culture in driving organizational success, from attracting and retaining top talent to fostering diversity in people and thought. Together, we can shape a brighter future where culture and leadership converge to make a great place to work for ALL.
WWT also had the pleasure of hosting a conversation with the co-founders of Eastside Golf Olajuwon Ajanaku and Earl Cooper, PGA, along with J.R. Smith., at the World Wide Technology Championship stage to discuss the growth of the game of golf, corporate partnerships, culture and how their mission is focused on driving more diversity into the sport.
Recruitment
The University/DEIB TA Programs team continued to spend their time this year strategically recruiting early talent, increasing brand awareness among early talent cohorts, and increasing diverse candidates in all areas of the business. The team participated in multiple conferences and college and high school visits to build relationships with talent in various places within their career journey.
Looking forward to 2024!
The DEIB team has been hard at work planning new initiatives for 2024. Expect to see a new ERG launch in Q1 focused on the professional development journey of our employees. Rising Professionals ERG will focus on those new in their careers, career advancement and individuals looking to change directions on their career path. This ERG will be a gathering place for resource sharing, mentoring, and access to professional development opportunities. A special thank you to Steve Pelch who will be the executive sponsor and to Pamela Barczewski who will lead this ERG.
We are thrilled to build out our next regional DEIB program in our Latin America region of the business. Brazil, Mexico and Costa Rica will combine their efforts and formalize a DEIB program to serve our employees in this region. Please look for more information to come about opportunities to celebrate and focus our efforts more intentionally in this part of our WWT family.
A special thank you to Ann Marr who retired earlier this year from WWT after 26 years of service. Ann's dedication and commitment to this effort have been essential to the development and expansion of the DEIB program at WWT.