Walmart is donating $ 14 million as part of its pledge to promote racial equality

In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, Walmart pledged to boost diversity within its own ranks and contribute $ 100 million over five years to help combat systemic racism across the country.

On Monday, the company released an update on that effort. Walmart and its foundation will distribute the first $ 14.3 million among 16 nonprofits. The grants will go to groups that address racial inequalities in a variety of ways, such as educating communities of color about the Covid-19 vaccines, reducing student debt at historically black colleges and universities, and providing Internet access and technology to children attending go to school. from a distance.

Walmart is one of several companies that pledged to put their money and weight into tackling racial inequalities following Floyd’s murder. But as the country’s largest employer and retailer, its actions have added significance. The company’s CEO, Doug McMillon, also leads the Business Roundtable, a powerful corporate voice made up of many of the country’s most prominent chief executives.

When the company made its first commitment in June, McMillon recognized that companies – including Walmart – need to do more than just write checks. He said the company would also do better within its four walls by recruiting and supporting diverse talent.

According to the company’s most recent diversity and inclusion report, black workers make up about 21% of Walmart’s 1.5 million US workforce. However, that diversity is fading at the top of Walmart. About 12% of the company’s managers and 7% of the officers are black.

Walmart enlisted Kirstie Sims, a longtime employee, to lead the company’s Center for Racial Equity, which will focus on inequalities in four key areas: finance, healthcare, education and criminal justice.

A native of Arkansas, Sims started working at the big-box store as a way to pay off student loans and planned to move into healthcare. At Walmart, however, she said she found she could build a career spanning more than 20 years and progress to leadership positions – something she hopes to make possible for other employees, including other black women. Prior to her new role, she was senior director of global ethics and compliance at Walmart.

Walmart has made other changes in recent months to promote racial equality. It will share a diversity and inclusion report twice a year instead of annually. It will partner with the nation’s largest historically black university, North Carolina A&T State University, to increase the number of black college graduates entering in-demand fields. It opened two new Walmart Health locations, offering low-cost medical appointments, in Chicago in November. It also signed with the One Ten Coalition, a group of American companies that pledged to train, employ, and promote one million black Americans over the next decade.

Sims said Walmart is looking at how its business practices can make a difference too. For example, it could increase access to affordable medical care in needy communities by opening Walmart Health locations, taking black businesses to the next level by using more as suppliers, and giving applicants a second chance re-entering society after engagement in the criminal justice system.

“Progress is slow at times, but with the work and the strength and dedication behind it, we are going to make change,” she said.