Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Create Opportunity at FedEx
Originally published in FedEx's 2022 ESG Report
As a global company, we see exceptional business and community value in the diversity of perspectives and experiences that our team members bring to work every day. We are committed to embracing DEI so everyone feels appreciated and valued. While we are proud of what we have achieved during our almost 50-year history, we know that DEI must always be at the forefront of our business strategy.
In 2020, we established four consistent, strategic pillars across our enterprise to frame our DEI work and share our progress: Our People; Our Education and Engagement; Our Communities, Customers, and Suppliers; and Our Story. This year, we continued to align our strategy with these pillars by investing in programs, initiatives, and people across our workforce, culture, marketplace, and communities.
Our people
The most important outcomes of our DEI efforts have been the opportunities created for our team members to grow and advance their careers. We actively invest in recruiting, developing, and retaining a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. In FY21, our operating companies collaboratively participated in five enterprise-wide recruitment events, partnering with the National Black MBA Association, the Society for Women Engineers, Hiring Our Heroes, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, and the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers to diversify our external talent pool. We are evaluating how to expand and connect with even more groups at an enterprise level.
Our operating companies continued to advance and update their initiatives in support of our DEI strategy this year. The FedEx Ground workforce career path program, Purple Pathways, targets career growth and engagement of frontline managers and package handlers—our most diverse population. Over 11,000 team members are registered for the program, with more than 500 Purple Pathways mentors. FedEx Express launched OnDeck, a training and development program that provides front-line workers with skills to prepare for management roles.
See the Data appendix for statistics on our workplace gender, race/ethnicity, and generational diversity. To further our transparency efforts regarding our workforce composition, in 2021 we began reporting the prior year gender, racial, and ethnic composition of our U.S. workforce by EEO-1 job category, as set forth in the consolidated EEO-1 Reports filed by FedEx and its operating subsidiaries with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Our education and engagement
We strive to have a workplace where team members can bring their whole and best self to work. Through education, training, regular communications, and resources our team members are encouraged to maintain open dialogues that lead to an inclusive environment.
Across our operating companies, our team members participate in employee-led business resource teams, employee networks, and affinity groups that help recruit, develop, and retain talent, create connections, and build community. Numerous networks are available to team members, including, but not limited to: Women in Leadership, Black Professionals Network, Hispanic Action Network, All-Generations, Multi-Ethnic Leadership Community, Asian Network, Women Leading Change, LGBT & Friends, U.S. Military Veterans, Growing Professionals, Parents Working Together, EnABLE Network, Men Leading Inclusively, Multi-Faith Network, and many others.
We continued to increase DEI education for team members this year by providing micro-learning DEI content across our operating companies. The DEI Real Talk Speaker Series, for officers and directors across the enterprise, is designed to foster acceptance, promote anti-biases, and encourage a more inclusive society. FedEx Ground launched SVP Real Conversations to prepare participants for the next level of leadership through Senior Vice President-hosted forums. FedEx Ground also hosted several Courageous Conversation sessions where leaders and team members candidly discussed DEI topics. FedEx Freight launched The Culture Brief & DEI Tune-Up email and podcast to provide short content on DEI topics to leaders.
This year, FedEx Services included five DEI questions in its engagement survey to capture team member perspectives on inclusion in the workplace. This overall inclusion index showed a 92% favorability rating and approximately 13,500 team members completed the survey. FedEx Ground also included a DEI engagement question in its annual engagement survey and added DEI as a standard goal in the FY22 team member annual performance review process. FedEx Express launched the Convene program, where a rotating group of four vice president- level diversity sponsors mentor other team members through a virtual mentoring program.
Our commitment to diversity starts at the top
The FedEx Board of Directors includes 12 directors, four of whom are women and four of whom are ethnically diverse. In the U.S., women represent 27% of FedEx management employees, while 41% of management employees are minorities.
Our communities, customers, and suppliers Our commitment to DEI extends beyond our business—it is an investment we make to serve and support our communities, customers, and suppliers. We are proud to have contributed more than $7 million to non-profit organizations focused on supporting DEI in FY21.
We provide more than $1 million annually for leadership development programs in the U.S., mainly through seven scholarship funds. We also sponsor endowed scholarships at four Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Tennessee State University, Jackson State University, LeMoyne-Owen College, and Mississippi Valley State University. These funds provide scholarships that range from $1,000 to $25,000 annually to more than 120 college and university students across various STEM, business, and specialist disciplines.
This year, we continued our longstanding support of HBCUs by providing $5 million to a group of HBCUs across the country to help prepare students for the workforce beyond formal education. Additionally, in 2022 we launched the FedEx-HBCU Student Ambassador Program, which will prepare students at HBCUs to be future leaders by interacting with FedEx executives and building leadership and career-ready skills.
Across our operating companies and in cooperation with key organizations, we recruit candidates from a variety of backgrounds to build a workforce that reflects the world and communities we serve. The FedEx Services College Connections program builds relationships with college campuses in close proximity to main FedEx Services geographies to effectively compete for talent. FedEx Freight implements “The Boardroom Experience” to introduce Black, Hispanic, and other students of color to career possibilities at FedEx through a simulated board meeting. Additionally, FedEx Ground created a six-session High School Pathways program to expose high school students to various FedEx Ground careers and prepare them to transition from high school into the workforce.
In June, our operating companies came together for Pride Month by creating a leadership-led video series showcasing our commitment to the LGBTQ+ community, designing a FedEx Cares Pride logo, and introducing pronouns into our email signature line. We also pledged $2.5 million to The Asian American Foundation to support Asian American and Pacific Islander communities across the U.S. We are proud to support diverse businesses and know that our suppliers enable us to better serve our customers and compete more effectively in the global marketplace. We formed our Supplier Diversity program in 1992 to formalize our commitment to a supply chain that intentionally develops small and minority-owned businesses. Furthermore, in the U.S., FedEx has hosted a Small Business Grant Contest for the past 10 years.
In 2021, we gave away over $250,000 in grants and prizes to contest winners—of which 50% was given to minority-owned businesses and more than 75% was given to woman-owned businesses. To learn more about our Supplier Diversity program, please see the Our supply chain section of this report.
Our story
FedEx amplifies team member stories to celebrate our differences and promote DEI efforts across the enterprise. Our DEI Depot is an enterprise-wide online platform where team members can access DEI resources, events, and team member stories. FedEx Corporate, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Services circulate a quarterly DEI Download newsletter, which provides managers and leaders with useful insights and resources to promote DEI conversations within their teams. FedEx Ground also hosts a simulated talk show, Get R.E.A.L. (Revealing opportunities, Elevating equity, Activating engagement, Leading inclusively) which invites guests to courageously share their unique stories.
