As CS, Revenue or Operational leaders we all have purchasing power, whether it's through shaping budgets or influencing/selecting vendors. In my pursuit to understand all the ways we can advance diversity, equity and inclusion I came across this firm
Conscious Customers helping companies diversify their vendors. It's important work because:
Only 5.3 % of US Sales go to Black and Latin-owned businesses. 88% go to white-owned companiesThe Median Black family owns 2% of the wealth of a white family. For Latin families - 4%
It puts your money where your company values are
Starting to ask potential vendors where they stand will normalize DEI as a value
In addition to the social good that comes from diversifying our professional networks, the Wall Street Journal published this metric from a 2006 study by the Hackett Group:
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Companies that focus on supplier diversity generate a 133% greater return on procurement investments than their counterparts that do not."(I haven't been able to find more recent data on this - do you know of any?)
Has anyone considered DEI in your vendor selection process? How do you think about this?