Racial equity is an aspirational pursuit insisting that all people, regardless of their racial/ethnic group identification, skin color, or physical traits, will have equal opportunity to experience well-being in a just society. Achieving racial equity means that a person’s identity would not predict their day-to-day experiences or their life outcomes.

Within companies, racial equity means that all employees have equal opportunities to join, to be developed, to belong, to succeed, to progress, and to be respected in the workplace. It means that the workplace culture, systems and structures enable people from all identity groups to thrive.

There are lots of good reasons to advance racial equity in your company...

Participants will learn in a supportive environment, with access to data and coaching needed to measure and advance racial equity. Over nine months, companies receive the following:

There is no fee to participate. However, participants may incur costs to travel to workshops in the future. In 2021 and 2022, all workshops are being held remotely.

The program is designed for companies with at least 200 corporate employees at all stages of racial equity work, who are looking for a thorough, structured, measurable and educational program. Program participants typically include 1-2 accountable leaders from the business, 1-2 HR professionals, and 1 C-suite executive. 

We are actively recruiting companies for Q1-Q2 2021 participant cohorts from the following industries: Financial Services, Consumer Goods and Technology. We encourage inquiries from interested companies in other industries (e.g., Banking, Business/Professional Services, etc.), as we will launch additional cohorts later in 2021 and 2022. 

In 2020, WKKF piloted Expanding Equity with five financial services firms. Here’s what they had to say about the program:

…The quality of the speakers, messages, content and goals are all excellent.”

It was a very thought-provoking workshop and set the stage well for the work that needs to be done. I thought the breakout sessions were extremely valuable and look forward to working on action items for our organization.”

“This partnership advanced our efforts in immeasurable ways. I really appreciated hearing about the practical and concrete things the Kellogg Foundation has done in your journey.”

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) is committed to ensuring all children, families and communities – regardless of race or income – have opportunities to reach their full potential. Companies play an essential role in creating those opportunities for people of all backgrounds in their workplaces and communities. Over the next 10 years, WKKF wants to help more workplaces transform into more equitable places of opportunity.

WKKF has been on its own decades-long journey to create a more equitable workplace and lean into our 2007 commitment to being an “effective anti-racist organization that promotes racial equity.” We bring knowledge, experience, a network of relationships, and a collection of proven tools and human-centered approaches on racial equity and racial healing to share with organizations and leaders seeking to do similar transformational work. Read more about our journey here. 

As a private foundation, Expanding Equity puts WKKF’s capital, influence, knowledge and reputation to work in a new way. By sharing action-oriented tools, we can help advance racial equity by transforming policies and practices in the industries and systems that shape society; drive better results for companies; and ultimately build equitable communities and a just economy where all children and their families can thrive.