My name is Robert Xavier Snaer-Williams and I am speaking on behalf of the non-profit advocacy organization, As You Sow. I formally move proposal number six. This resolution requests that Procter & Gamble publish an annual report assessing its diversity and inclusion efforts.  

I am a college senior and worked on the research underlying As You Sow’s Workplace Diversity scorecard which will be published at the end of October. Soon, I will be graduating into a workforce where men of color, especially Black men like me, face huge career headwinds. Not only will the coronavirus and the economy be my major concern while looking for my first full-time job, I will have to also consider which companies are most likely to give me a fair chance at proving myself and allowing me to contribute to their success.  

As a 21-year-old Black man, I am also a member of one of the segmented audiences that Procter & Gamble is hoping to reach through its racial justice focused marketing. The content I had seen from P&G on being Black in America resonated with me. It felt like P&G was an allied brand, one that truly understood the Black experience and was seeking to change racial discrimination and injustice.

When I learned that P&G declined to share diversity and inclusion data on its own workplace, I felt let down and hurt. It was like my favorite superhero turning out to be a villain. The company just released its EEO-1 form, which shows workforce composition data, but it continues to decline to share key inclusion statistics such as recruitment, retention, and promotion rates. 

In the proxy statement, P&G sought to reassure investors of a strong and effective workplace diversity program. With a strong diversity program in place, a company’s lack of transparency — not the numbers themselves — are what represent an unnecessary business risk. 

In declining to share its workplace inclusion data, P&G undermines significant advertising efforts. Capturing diverse consumers is a focus of P&G’s growth strategy. If P&G were able to replicate its general-market performance with diverse consumers, in the words of Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard: “The size of the prize is big — up to $1 billion in extra sales just by achieving market shares equal to the national average on all of our brands.”

Given its reliance on diverse consumers, P&G needs to be more transparent, more honest, and more committed than other companies. Yet, it is lagging. Our research shows, for example, as it relates to gender, approximately 15% of the S&P100 publish promotion data, 20% show recruitment data, and 11% share retention data. 

P&G’s short film “The Choice” shows the words “Not being racist is not enough. Now is the time to be anti-racist,” “Words and feelings are not enough. Now is the time to take action.” 

The request for P&G’s workforce inclusion metrics is a reasonable ask for material data from a company that has presented itself as a leader on diversity issues. It is both confusing and worrying that it is unwilling to release this information.

Thank you.