The Path Toward Equality

How Businesses Can Become Platforms for Social Change

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 CHAPTER 1

Leading
the Change
Customers and employees want to do
business with — and work for — equality-
driven companies. In fact, 80% of
business professionals believe companies
have a responsibility to go beyond profit
to make an impact on society.1

Today’s business leaders must take an

active role in creating change, starting
with their own workplaces and extending
into the communities in which their
companies operate. It’s important to
remember, as Founder and Executive
Chairman of the World Economic Forum
Klaus Schwab says, “We must look past
our own narrow interests and attend to
the interests of our global society.”

Equality Snapshot” survey, Salesforce Research

1”

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 It’s now imperative that businesses make it a priority to
create workplaces that are free from discrimination, mirror
the communities they serve, and are representative of “Responsive leadership
all identities — and that they work to advance equality in has no title, no age
their communities. Companies must be, as Congressman
John Lewis says, “the headlights, not taillights” in the fight group, and has very little
toward equality for all. to do with whether or
We believe our company’s higher purpose is to drive the not you are an elected
Age of Equality — when we truly reach equality for all — but official or CEO of a
we can’t do it alone. Are you ready to join us on this path
and help lead the change?
company. Responsive
leadership is our ability
In the next three chapters, we’ll explain the equality gap
to take action and
that’s unfortunately present in many businesses today.
We’ll share a vision for how you can work together with actively play our part in
leaders at your company — and in your industry — to build our communities.”
a path to equality, provide details on the business impact
of a more equal organization, and discuss important steps — Zamantungwa Khumalo,
you can take immediately to get started. Executive Producer, Power FM

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 Chapter 2

The Equality Gap “Inequality, in all its forms

— gender, LGBTQ, racial,
Technology has changed tremendously over the past 50,
20, and even five years. Being able to hail a rideshare from or otherwise — is an issue
your smartphone or receive weather updates from a talking that every company
AI device is impressive — and a clear indicator of how far
business has come through innovation and technology. must address for its own
benefit and to create a
But sadly, equality hasn’t kept pace with modern
innovation. When it comes to ensuring that all groups better world. We believe
get a seat at the table, companies are lagging behind. businesses need to focus
This is what we call the equality gap: a divide between
the successes of a few majority groups and the lack of on closing the equality
opportunity and advancement of many others — often gap with the same energy
based on gender, race, ability, place of origin, sexual
identity, and other factors. put into creating new
products and markets.”
— Tony Prophet,
Chief Equality Officer, Salesforce

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“We believe businesses
need to focus on closing
the equality gap with the
same energy put into
creating new products
and markets.”
— Tony Prophet,
Chief Equality Officer, Salesforce

Tony
Prophet
 The equality gap manifests itself in many ways. For example, look around
a conference room or business luncheon and you’ll probably notice
underrepresentation of certain identities and groups. It’s time we as According to the
business leaders address this gap in our own companies and start working
toward true equality for all.
World Economic
Forum, it will take
Want real data on how prevalent the equality gap truly is?
women 170 years
According to research by the World Economic Forum,
at the current pace, it will take women 170 years to gain pay parity
to gain pay parity
with men. with men.
Less than 31% of employee populations at major tech companies
are women, and less than 6% of those populations are Hispanic
or black, according to diversity numbers reported by major tech
companies.

Pew Research finds that fewer than half (45%) of all Americans
say the country has made substantial progress toward racial equality.

As business leaders, we’re tasked with more than growing our customer
base and profit. We have the incredible opportunity to drive the Age of
Equality and become advocates for change.

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 CHAPTER 3

Our Vision
The equality gap makes it clear: As
business leaders, we have plenty of
room for improvement when it comes
to equality in our organizations.

However, when businesses lead

with equality, they become powerful
platforms for positive social change,
creating strong, emotional connections
with their customers. At Salesforce, we
work together with our entire Ohana
— including our customers, partners,
employees, and the tech industry — to
blaze a path toward equality for all.
Now we invite you to join us and share
in this vision.

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“Equal pay for equal work
is an essential part of the
equality journey we are on
at Salesforce.”
— Cindy Robbins,
Executive Vice President,
Global Employee Success
 Our Four Pillars of Equality
At Salesforce, equality is a core value. We’re focusing on four key pillars to drive the Age of Equality: equal Rights,
equal pay, equal education, and equal opportunity. Here’s how we’re striving to impact each of these areas:

Equal Rights Equal Pay Equal K–12 Education Equal Opportunity

We advocate for equality in We continuously assess and We are committed to We strive to create a diverse
the communities where we aim for pay equity across our furthering access in K–12 and inclusive company
live and work. entire organization. education for all. culture without barriers
to advancement.
We stood up against We’ve spent a total of $6 We globally adopted
discriminatory bills and million to eliminate pay Our company supports
43 schools and donated
laws targeting the LGBTQ differences in the salaries of 10+ employee resource
$22.5 million to accelerate
communities in Indiana, 25,000 employees. groups to promote a diverse
STEM middle school
Georgia, and North Carolina. and inclusive culture.
programs.
We are committed to the
recruitment and retention of
women and underrepresented
groups to create a more
diverse Salesforce.

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 CHAPTER 4

The Business Impact “80% of business

Why are we so focused on this vision? First and foremost, professionals
we believe it’s the right thing to do. Equality in all forms believe companies
and at all levels is critical to advancing our workplaces
and communities. have a responsibility
In addition, businesses across all industries stand to
to go beyond profit
benefit greatly from the untapped talent and economic to make an impact
potential that we’d experience if all groups could
participate equally in technology’s current revolution. on society.”
— “Equality Snapshot” survey,
Equality must be core to this next wave of economic Salesforce Research
development, and companies that lead with equality in
their values gain a competitive advantage by:

Being more innovative

Better understanding their customers

Strengthening loyalty to their brand

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 Standing for equality can make your business more impactful — and it’s truly the future of business.
Consider these key business impacts of being a leader in the equality:

The Financial Impact The Customer Impact The Employee Impact The Innovation Impact
Companies that focus Customers are more A commitment to Diverse companies
on diversity outperform loyal and engaged with equality aligns with higher are more innovative,
their peers. companies that focus on employee retention and creative, and efficient.
equality and values. engagement.
Companies that are Thought diversity helps
more gender diverse Sixty-six percent of global The management organizations make
are 15% more likely to online consumers across behavior most likely better decisions because
financially outperform 60 countries say they’re to affect employee it triggers more creative
other companies. Those willing to pay more for engagement is: information processing,
that are ethnically diverse products and services “demonstrates strong which is often absent in
are 35% more likely to provided by companies commitment to diversity.” homogenous groups.
do the same. that are committed — Gallup — Kellogg study
— McKinsey to positive social and
environmental impact.
— Nielsen

Now that you’ve learned the benefits and potential impact of equality, how do you bring about this type of
change in your day-to-day job? In the next chapter, learn actionable steps you and your team can take today to
move toward equality.

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 CHAPTER 5

Actions You
Can Take Today
It’s clear that all of us who influence
business activities are called to action —
to work toward equality in our customer
and employee communities. But what
does this really look like in practice, as we
hire new employees, hold meetings, and
collaborate with others? Fortunately, you
can start taking action today.

If you’re ready to have a profound impact

on your business, community, industry,
and the world, here’s a checklist of
important action steps to take to build
a more equality-focused company from
the inside out.

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“The business of
business is to
improve the state
of the world.”
— Marc Benioff,
Chairman and CEO, Salesforce
 Educate all employees, but especially hiring managers, on unconscious biases.
Train employees in recognizing biases so they can hire and collaborate more
effectively. Need resources? Check out Salesforce’s “Cultivate Equality at Work” trail.

Evaluate for pay equity. Equal pay for equal work is important to ensure your
employees’ advancement has no barriers. It’s also a key step toward gender equality,
so create a plan to constantly evaluate salaries and bonuses across your business for
pay equity.

Start a mentorship program. Mentor diverse talent to help groom the next
generation of managers and leaders from a variety of backgrounds.

Recruit for diversity. Create a strategy to increase the diversity of your candidate
pool through through decreasing bias in recruiting processes, expanding your target
schools, and creating strategic partnerships with diversity-focused organizations.

Focus the company culture on inclusion. Employees should be able to bring their
authentic selves to work. Strive to create a diverse and inclusive culture that’s free of
barriers to inclusion and advancement.

Start diversity at the employee level. Create employee resource groups (ERGs)
to celebrate diverse groups and build communities. Empower and invest in these
groups to create change — and most of all, listen to their perspectives.

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 Adopt a school. Equality begins with education, and early access to technology
can help us close some of our workforce gaps. Think about how your business can
get involved with your local schools and consider adopting one by investing the
volunteer time and money needed to further STEM and other programs.

Create apprenticeship opportunities. Internships are a great way to educate and

train the workforce of the future. Companies can help ensure everyone has an equal
opportunity to succeed — despite their background, where they live, or their identity
— by creating and supporting apprenticeship programs.

Advocate for equality in the communities where your employees live and work.
Businesses have the ability to be powerful platforms for change. If your employees,
customers, partners, and your community are being impacted by unequal rights,
find a way to use your platform to advocate on their behalf.

Think equality first in product design. A diverse user testing group and diverse
programming team will help evaluate how a broad group of people experience your
products and avoid unintentional discrimination.

Lead with values. A core set of corporate values can be your compass and anchor,
especially in times of turmoil. Align your company around equality as a value to stay
focused and intentional about moving forward.

These are just a few ways you can begin addressing equality gaps in your daily and weekly work. The more you
strive to create a culture of equality, the more your employees will be empowered to continue the movement.

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 Conclusion
Salesforce Chairman and CEO Marc Benioff
has said, “The business of business is to
improve the state of the world.”

Ushering in the Age of Equality is your

chance to not only influence the future of
business globally and in your communities,
but to also create positive social change.

For every step you take toward bringing

about more equality-minded changes in
your company and community, you can
be confident that you’re doing more than
just business. You’re doing the right thing
for your employees, customers, business,
community, and world.

FOR MORE RESOURCES, CHECK OUT

SALESFORCE.COM/EQUALITY >

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“Our higher purpose is to
drive the Age of Equality.”
— Marc Benioff,
Chairman and CEO, Salesforce
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