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As 2021 draws to a close, ViacomCBS has released its second annual update on the state of diversity, equity and inclusion at the conglomerate.
The company recorded a marginal increase in its nonwhite U.S. workforce. Employees from the global majority currently comprise 37.7 percent of the 15,926 domestic staff and 27.7 percent of senior leadership (vice presidents and above), up slightly from 36.2 percent and 25 percent, respectively, a year ago. This year, ViacomCBS also provided a racial breakdown of its top executives (senior vps and above), revealing that 75.83 percent are white, 9.29 percent are Black, 7.14 percent are Asian, 5.95 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 1.43 percent are multiracial, 0.24 percent are Native American and 0.12 percent are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.
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ViacomCBS touts its record on gender, noting that with seven women on its 12-member board, it boasts one of the highest percentages of female board members among S&P 500 companies. Its global workforce is 48.7 percent female (49.1 percent in the U.S.). That proportion is maintained among VPs and above, although dips slightly to 44.8 percent worldwide (45.7 percent domestically) for senior VPs and up.
(These figures are similar to those revealed in October in WarnerMedia’s 2020-21 equity and inclusion report, which recorded that people of color represent 39 percent of its overall U.S. workforce and 28 percent of vps and above. Women represent 46 percent of the company globally, both overall and in leadership. The near-identical breakdowns across the board indicate that barriers to inclusion are systemic and not endemic to a single studio.)
ViacomCBS also provided extensive updates on its suite of DEI programs and initiatives, such as its new HBCU Diversity in Journalism Scholarship, its newly expanded companywide Content for Change initiative, and its “First Look Deal Program” for U.K. writers from historically excluded backgrounds. In addition, the conglomerate has joined other companies including Amazon and WarnerMedia in submitting (and, in October, gaining approval for) a three-year plan to achieve Black Equity at Work Certification from the BIPOC leadership nonprofit Management Leadership for Tomorrow.
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