Recent events in the U.S. — including the killings of Black citizens like Rayshard Brooks, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others — have prompted SAP to speak up, connect with the experiences of its Black colleagues and other people of color, reaffirm its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and increase its investments in social justice reform, in organizations that develop a qualified talent pipeline in the technology industry, and in Black-owned businesses and social enterprises.
SAP is taking the following concrete steps toward social justice and equality:
1. Acknowledging the pain and grief of SAP employees impacted by the situation and offering opportunities to address the emotions, as well as access to grief counselors. On June 4, SAP North America President DJ Paoni and SAP Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Judith Williams hosted a town hall to acknowledge the pain and grief of SAP employees, and to offer access to grief counselors. During the event, a diverse group of employees graciously shared their concern and experiences with racial injustice.
2. Executing on its strategy to further increase diversity in the workforce and ensure that every SAP employee has access to the same development opportunities. SAP has set a new goal to double the representation of African American talent in the U.S. over the next three years. SAP’s focus is to better reflect the diversity of society and the customers it serves. SAP will continue to partner with organizations that develop a qualified talent pipeline from communities currently underrepresented in the technology industry, like African Americans.
3. Doubling down on its existing commitment to education and economic development, in addition to adding direct support for social justice reform through the Equal Justice Initiative, among others.
4. Growing its pro bono economic development programs to strengthen Black-owned businesses and social enterprises by providing them with access to know-how and expertise from SAP employees. SAP has also introduced a new program, called “Spotlight Black Businesses,” to assist small, Black-owned businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19 and protests caused by social unrest. Through the new program, the company plans to allocate time on its social media channels and launch a website to raise awareness for these businesses.
5. Partnering with Global Citizen, the world’s largest movement of action takers and impact makers dedicated to ending extreme poverty by 2030. Announced today, the Unite for Our Future campaign calls on citizens, business, government, and the social sector to tackle the enormous injustices the world is facing due to COVID-19 and racial unrest. SAP has pledged its financial support alongside other global corporations to end COVID-19, end injustice, and fight for the world we want. A number of these commitments will be announced during the summit and the concert on Saturday, June 27.
6. Joining the “Stop Hate for Profit” effort. SAP will suspend all paid advertisements across Facebook and Instagram until the company signals a significant, action-driven commitment to combating the spread of hate speech and racism on its platforms. In order for real, meaningful change to occur, we must recognize, acknowledge and address our own role in the systems that perpetuate systemic racism.
In addition to these focused efforts to improve diversity and inclusion internally and support social justice reform and Black communities globally, SAP will work closely with other business leaders to drive meaningful change to help the world run better and improve people’s lives.
Call to Action
Join SAP and Global Citizen live from home on June 27 and support SAP’s commitment to helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.
The Global Citizen Concert will air on broadcasters across the globe, including ARD, Canal+ Group, RTVE in Europe; Bell Media, CBC, Citytv, and Global TV, in Canada; NBC and iHeartMedia in the U.S.; Grupo Globo in Brazil; MultiChoice Group and SABC in Africa; Fuji TV and Star India in Asia; and Channel Nine in Australia. The concert will also be streamed on global platforms, including Apple, Brut, Roku, Insight TV, TIDAL, Twitch, Twitter, Yahoo!, and YouTube. Additional broadcasters include BARÇA TV, Bloomberg Television, Fundación Azteca, Mediacorp, MSNBC, MTV, SiriusXM, Sony Channel Latin America, and Turner Latin America. Check local listings for start times.
Photo by Anders Jildén on Unsplash
