Diversity and inclusion are keys to strengthening our engaging workplace and delivering for our stakeholders. Ensuring that Equitable is a place of belonging – for all – is a priority and a commitment we make on behalf of our employees, financial professionals, partners, and clients.

During 2020, the impact of the pandemic on health and economic security, and the uprising for social and racial justice, brought to the forefront the deep inequities that exist throughout our society. These challenges served as a catalyst for the the people of Equitable who responded with energy and conviction, taking action to bring about change.

To accelerate this progress across the enterprise, we created the D&I Advocate Forum with senior leader representatives from each business area who are accountable for working with their respective leadership team to drive D&I results.

We also looked outside our company, recognizing that we have a responsibility to promote equity in the financial services industry and beyond, and joined with other organizations to support these goals.

• During the year we joined 350+ leading U.S. employers that support the Equality Act, federal legislation that would provide the same basic protections to LGBTQ people as are provided to other protected groups under federal law.
• Equitable also joined in support of a lawsuit by the States of Virginia, Nevada and Illinois, seeking formal ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution.
• As part of our commitment to increasing voter participation in U.S. elections, Equitable joined Time to Vote. and amended our employee policy to include additional time off for employees who volunteered as poll workers.
• And CEO Mark Pearson signed the Disability:IN CEO letter, urging Fortune 1,000 companies to advance disability inclusion

Through our efforts, Equitable has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index , the Disability Equality Index Best Places to Work, and the Great Place to Work Institute for our commitment to provide an inclusive workplace for all our employees.

But we know there is still more to be done

This past year, Equitable created and launched the CEO Taskforce to Advance Racial Equity, with a mission to “be the most sought-after employer for Black professionals by shattering racial inequities in our workplace and building an Equitable that support and invests in the career and well-being of our Black employees and advisors.” The team is comprised of 11 full-time members and is led by Chief Diversity Officer Darryl W. Gibbs.

“Equitable has a unique role to play as an industry leader,” said Gibbs, one of the Taskforce’s founding members. “We continue to strengthen Equitable as an engaging workplace, increasingly representative of America today, and I am honored to serve with my colleagues to advance our efforts in this space.”

The Taskforce is focused on delivering meaningful results across four strategic areas: recruiting, development, retention, and advancement. The Taskforce has a range of ambitious goals to develop an effective, sustainable approach for building a fair and more equitable environment for all people and diversity groups at Equitable. Our committed outcomes by 2023 are focused in three areas: representation and advancement, culture and experience, as well as performance.

External Recognitions and Calls for Equity and Inclusion

• Representation and advancement: We will strengthen representation by substantially expanding the number of leadership roles filled by Black employees, financial professionals and district managers.
• Culture and Experience: We want to make Equitable a great place to work for Black employees. The Taskforce will help create spaces for dialogue and idea exchanges. It will also focus on the implementation of sound policies and practices to create stronger psychological safety at all levels of the company.
• Performance: We want to ensure that equitable performance indicators for Black employees are in place, and we provide the tools and resources to ensure the success of our Black financial professionals.

While the Taskforce is currently focused on Black employees and Advisors, the models created will be used to benefit other underrepresented groups.

We are proud of the work we have done and are excited about the work we have yet to do to. “We continue to strengthen Equitable as an engaging workplace, increasingly representative of America today,” said Gibbs. “Nothing excites me more than the idea of a more perfect union in our own organization.”