Best Buy is proud to announce that we have signed on as a founding member of the Parity.org ParityPledge in Support of People of Color.
It’s a public commitment to interview at least one qualified person of color for every open leadership role that is at the vice president level or higher, including the C-suite and board of directors. There are no quotas or deadlines.
This latest pledge is in addition to the ParityPledge in Support of Women, which we previously signed to increase the representation of women in leadership. In fact, we were one of 35 companies recently named to Parity.org’s list of Best Companies for Women to Advance.
“We know we won’t get there overnight, but we are committed to increasing the representation of people of color at Best Buy and being an inclusive employer that empowers and supports all of our employees,” said Mark Irvin, chief inclusion and diversity officer.
We aim to attract and retain employees from all backgrounds and identities who reflect our diverse customer base and the communities we serve. And as CEO Corie Barry said in a letter last month, Best Buy is committed to doing better when it comes to taking action to address racial inequalities and injustices.
We’ve created a diverse task force within the company to find and create meaningful change. We’ve also committed to creating more than 100 Teen Tech Centers to help bridge the opportunity gap and digital divide for teens in disinvested communities across the country. And we’re one of the leaders of a new public-private partnership, called ConnectedMN, that will provide computers and internet access to thousands of youth in our home state.
As one small example of work we are doing to specifically advance women of color, this year we offered our Black and Latinx employees a mentorship program that helps them achieve professional and personal goals by connecting with leaders across the company.
“We are so pleased to have Best Buy join us in their commitment as a founding member of this pledge,” said Cathrin Stickney, Parity.org’s founder and CEO. “Our original ParityPledge was created to close the gender gap in business, and we have always believed that equal representation of all groups was key to achieving that. But it’s clear that we can, and must, do more for communities of color.”
Parity.org is a nonprofit dedicated to closing the representation gap for women and people of color at the highest ranks of business leadership.
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