Please join us in welcoming several new members of the D&I Advisory Committee:

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We began the discussion by reviewing the committee’s key activities in 2021:

Corporate Diversity Legislation – Based up on the committee’s review and feedback, the Council endorsed the “Improving Corporate Governance Through Diversity Act,” which was introduced in February 2021 by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY). The bill would require public companies to report to the SEC date on diversity within their senior leadership and on their boards. The Council wrote to the New England delegation in April 2021 to urge them to support this bill. READ MORE

InternX Partnership – In 2021, the Council established a partnership with InternX, an online platform that connects college students from underrepresented backgrounds with internship opportunities. The Council has engaged in ongoing efforts to promote InternX to our members, encouraging employers to leverage this tool to recruit interns, and colleges to leverage it to help their students connect with internships. READ MORE

New Series of DEI Events - The committee members agreed that the Council should move forward with a new series of periodic events exploring best practices, successful strategies, challenges, and opportunities related to various DEI topics. These programs could draw upon the expertise within the Council’s membership on a variety of topics, and would also help engage new contacts at member companies and organizations in the Council’s work.

Committee members identified the following as potential topics for programs in this new series:

Council staff will begin working on plans to launch this series, with the goal of hosting 3 events in 2022, and carrying the series on into 2023.

Feedback from Community Organizations – Another idea that was discussed was inviting in leaders of local DEI-focused non-profit organizations to hear from them about their work and to learn how the business community can best support them.

Washington Leaders’ Conference – We next discussed the Council’s Washington Leaders Conference, scheduled for May 11 & 12, 2022, and plans to focus the May 12 Congressional Breakfast on DEI policy initiatives in Congress. The Council will seek to secure 3-4 members of Congress as speakers for the breakfast, each of whom will be asked to discuss their legislative efforts related to DEI issues.

We reviewed a preliminary list of potential speakers, which you can view here:

Building on the Council’s support for corporate diversity legislation last year, we next discussed legislation that the Council may consider for support this year, and asked the committee for feedback and suggestions. Any legislation would also be reviewed by the relevant NEC policy committee as well.

Two specific bills that have come to our attention:

Ensuring Diversity in Community Banking Act – Introduced February 15, 2022, by Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY). The bill puts forward regulatory initiatives to preserve and promote minority banks and credit unions, and strengthening programs that provide capital to these institutions. It would also create an impact bank designation for community banks that predominantly serve low income communities. This bill was introduced and passed the House in the last Congress.

Antiracism in Public Health Act - Introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D- and Congresswoman Pressley. The bill would declare structural racism as a public health crisis and would establish two new programs at the CDC: a National Center for Antiracism that would conduct research and provide public education, and a Law Enforcement Violence Prevention Program.

Thank you all for you continued support for the Council, and your feedback on these issues. If you have any questions or other suggestions, please feel free to contact Emily of Griff. We look forward to hopefully seeing you all in person soon!