Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable Facilitator Tim Stevens
profiles the launch of CEIR Pittsburgh
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CEIR came about as a lot of movements do, in response to a negative situation. The Pittsburgh region in 2010 was listed as 40th out of 40 regions in the nation with regard to the conditions of the black working poor and black children. This was unacceptable, and we met with Rich Fitzgerald when he was running for office as CEO (Chief Executive Officer) for Allegheny County. We asked him if he would help us facilitate and host this Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable. He agreed to do so, and once he won the election he recommitted. Now we have both Mayor Peduto and County Chief Executive Fitzgerald who have been with us in our summits.
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What we're trying to do is identify the positives – the entities in our region including corporations, companies, nonprofits, universities, and colleges – that are doing positive things to deal with diversity, equity, and inclusion. What we said at the conference of June 20th, 2016 was:
"How do we create those pebbles of possibilities? How do we expand them? How do we duplicate them? How do we emulate them? How do we expand? That's what we're trying to do."
The concept of the Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable is to say to every part of our region – we want an ongoing commitment, not a one-time commitment but an ongoing commitment embracing what we call the Revised Rooney Rule. It says that for every job, from entry-level to the C-suite, an African-American, Hispanic, someone of color will be considered. That doesn't mean that all of a sudden, all the jobs are taken by people of color. It means that people of color are now in the mix.
We want commitments to the Hybrid Rooney Rule, which similarly states that before every contract is let, an African-American, Hispanic, someone up color will be considered.
Our philosophy is very simple: if every entity in the region takes on embracing the Revised Rooney Rule and the Hybrid Rooney Rule, over a period of years we will build wealth for people of color. If you're not working and then you begin to get a check every two weeks, that's wealth. If you have a company or create a company and the company is expanded, that's building wealth.
"How do we create those pebbles of possibilities? How do we expand them? How do we duplicate them? How do we emulate them? How do we expand? That's what we're trying to do."
The concept of the Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable is to say to every part of our region – we want an ongoing commitment, not a one-time commitment but an ongoing commitment embracing what we call the Revised Rooney Rule. It says that for every job, from entry-level to the C-suite, an African-American, Hispanic, someone of color will be considered. That doesn't mean that all of a sudden, all the jobs are taken by people of color. It means that people of color are now in the mix.
We want commitments to the Hybrid Rooney Rule, which similarly states that before every contract is let, an African-American, Hispanic, someone up color will be considered.
Our philosophy is very simple: if every entity in the region takes on embracing the Revised Rooney Rule and the Hybrid Rooney Rule, over a period of years we will build wealth for people of color. If you're not working and then you begin to get a check every two weeks, that's wealth. If you have a company or create a company and the company is expanded, that's building wealth.