Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Looking Ahead with Unwavering Commitment
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Looking Ahead with Unwavering Commitment
By Dalila Wilson-Scott
|
May 24, 2022
In 2020, witnessing a global call to action on addressing systemic inequities and racism, Comcast worked with our teams across the country to lean in and take an active role in driving lasting change backed by an incremental, multi-year $100 million commitment to social justice and equality.
By no stretch is the work done – in many ways, it never will be. But two years of honest, sometimes difficult conversations, and deeply committed efforts have brought our teams closer together and we hope has driven lasting positive impact within our company and in communities across the country.
Supporting Employees
Our commitment starts at home. We’ve engaged tens of thousands of our employees across Comcast and NBCUniversal, ensuring their invaluable perspectives and experiences are part of the larger conversation.
Events like DE&I Day, Meet the Moment, and our DE&I Speaker Series have brought together employees from across the organization, creating moments of powerful collective learning and a new shared understanding.
Additionally, we’ve launched a host of professional development programs that are focused on advancing a more inclusive culture and supportive network for all. Our experienced partners – which include Tone Networks, The Cru, CoachDiversity, and our nine Employee Resource Groups – provide leadership, professional growth, networking opportunities; new technology for expanding and diversifying professional networks; and training to provide a clear understanding of recognizing and overcoming unconscious bias.
We’re intentionally focused on our workforce diversity, and ensuring our company accurately reflects the communities we serve. As of year-end 2021, our company reached the most inclusive employee representation in the ten years since reporting our diversity data: 36 percent women and 45 percent people of color.
45%
of employees are people of color
Our network of employees is critical to the work Comcast does every day and to the values we strive to uphold. Recognizing this, we will continue to support and empower our teams, and demonstrate our shared commitments in meaningful ways.
Advancing Digital Equity
Our work to address digital inequity by improving technology access and growing digital skillsets is among the most consequential actions we can take to advance economic mobility.
Comcast has helped bring in-home broadband to ten million people since 2011 through our Internet Essentials offering, and more recently as part of the national Affordable Connectivity Program. Although connectivity is just one step in addressing digital inequity, Comcast is committed to making sure more people can harness the power that comes from having Internet access.
Over the past two years, we’ve contributed more than $100 million in cash to organizations led by and serving underrepresented communities and we’re working to close the digital skills and opportunity gaps in a targeted, effective way. In partnership with organizations like CodePath, Build.org, NPower, and the Hispanic Federation we’re helping to ensure students and adults have the education and experience needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We installed 1,000 Lift Zones across the country to provide no-cost Internet for educational resources, career opportunities, and digital skills building. And we have committed to growing this award-winning program by another 25 percent, with plans to install an additional 250 locations this year.
1,000
Lift Zones installed across the country
Driving Media, Awareness and Education
As a media company, we have an opportunity to tap into the wealth of diverse talent that gives voice to our unique individual stories, as well as our collective shared journey. In uplifting these artists, writers, and directors, we are expanding on today’s content as well as tapping into the next generation of creative storytellers.
Our Black Experience channel is home to the largest collection of independent Black film on demand. Since its launch, Black Experience on Xfinity has funded more than two dozen Black creators and has seen an engagement of more than three million viewers and over 11 million hours of content watched.
With diversity and inclusion as its core driver, NBCU Academy expanded its reach by adding 13 new partners this year, bringing this multi-platform journalism training and development program’s scope to a total of 30 higher education institutions. The program will invest $2 million in grants toward supporting its new partners, helping them grow educational opportunities and talent pipelines.
Providing Small Business Opportunity
Small businesses provide a path to economic empowerment unlike any other, and are integral to their communities, building personal connections and neighborhood character. Knowing this, we made a concerted effort to direct support and resources to help grow their success.
Comcast RISE was launched as a response to small businesses hardest hit by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and has helped thousands of entrepreneurs continue to thrive in an ever-shifting post-pandemic economy by providing millions in marketing, technology, and financial support. Today, we’re excited to see we’re on track to support a total of 13,000 small businesses by the end of the year.
13,000
Small businesses to be supported by Comcast RISE
The Path Forward
The past two years have proven to be a watershed moment that has resonated through nearly every aspect of our lives.
Our $100 million commitment marked a specific moment, but our pledge to champion diversity, advance equity, and drive inclusion runs deep – and will continue unwavering into our future.
This year, we will fulfill our three-year rollout of this commitment and will embed the work and ongoing funding into our business operations to help create more lasting change. Our efforts will live on throughout our many platforms and partnerships, most specifically our ten-year, $1 billion initiative to reach tens of millions of people and help create a future of unlimited possibilities, Project UP.
$1B
Commitment to reach tens of millions of people.
While I am incredibly proud of how we demonstrated our commitment, I am most energized by how dedicated we are to the work that lies ahead. This is the inclusive culture that keeps me hopeful and heartened. In a world full of uncertainty, I am clear on where we stand.
Through Project UP and more, we look ahead, ready to reach even more communities, students, storytellers, and entrepreneurs – supporting new opportunities and setting dreams on a path to being realized.
Dalila Wilson-Scott is Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer of Comcast Corporation and President of the NBCUniversal Foundation.
