Governance Strategy & Results
Case Study: Celebrating Diversity Throughout the Year
Case Study: Celebrating Diversity Throughout the Year Our DEI task force meets weekly and introduced a full calendar of events to celebrate our diverse heritage. In addition to circulating monthly resources and educational materials, this team introduced new events for Women’s History Month, LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month. During Black History Month in February, the DEI task force steered the organization through meaningful explorations of black history. In 2021, our theme was "The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity."
We reflected as a community on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech and supported black-owned businesses on corporate, propertylevel and personal social media accounts. Many of us also attended an event run and organized by Ibram X. Kendi, who is the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University and the Founding Director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research. We also shared extensive learning materials with team members, as well as opportunities to celebrate and support black communities and businesses. In June, we set aside a week to learn about Juneteenth, African American history and allyship from experts alongside our team members and the extended Blackstone organization.
We invited Blackstone, as well as team members from other portfolio companies to join us for a fireside chat with Journalist A’Lelia Bundles about the connections between the first Juneteenth and today’s social justice and voting rights movements. Bundles is the entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker’s great-great granddaughter and biographer. More than 500 employees across the Blackstone portfolio companies joined us. We came together again during the week to discuss allyship and inclusivity at work. Allyship experts led us in a community circle, which empowered team members with practical insights into antiracist interventions and authentic allyship practices.
“ EQuality is about allowing the voices to surface, elevate and to create change . . . and then for the leaders to propel it.” Lisa Picard, former EQ Office CEO Journalist A’Lelia Bundles gives a talk. Photo: CSUF News Photos
EQ Office
ESG Report 2020–2021