The Racial Justice & Equity (RJE) Policy Team drives member priorities in key corporate diversity initiatives and public policy concerns related to equity and inclusion. These activities include managing a portfolio of programs like 25x25, partnerships, and policy engagement at the state and federal levels of government. Membership consists of companies that seek to advance diversity, equity and inclusion within their organizational cultures to effect change in the broader technology sector and innovation economy.
The May 25, 2020 murder of George Floyd brought the 350 technology companies of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group together like never before. In a series of emotional and vulnerable conversations, former Leadership Group President and CEO Carl Guardino led Silicon Valley business executives in discussions that set up deep changes for our organization. We supported the executives and focused on what the world could be.
In direct response to the murders of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, our Board of Directors voted unanimously to support the formation of a Racial Justice and Equity Portfolio to advocate on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, the lack of which is most acutely felt in Black and Brown communities. Over the course of a 90-day period, Silicon Valley and California would see a confluence of cultural, legislative, and social
responses to addressing economic inequities, wage disparities, and underrepresentation in leadership spaces.
Recognizing our role as a business trade association, we believe that elevating everyone’s conscious awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion should not just be felt in discussions surrounding law enforcement, but should be extended into actions taken in the technology, business, and private sectors.
To achieve diversity, we need to address the systems that have allowed for the underrepresentation of BIPOC executives in our country. We believe that conversations about racial justice and equity belong both inside our companies and outside, in our neighborhoods and communities.
Recent national events have highlighted the persistent problem of systematic police violence aimed at African Americans and other minority communities. Too many law enforcement officers operate under insufficient accountability and transparency, resulting in community suppression and loss of life. The SVLG will support programs, policy and legislation at the local, state and regional level that aim to correct racial injustice, lack of representation, inequity and unjust policing.
Pledge 25x25: This initiative is a movement by leading Silicon Valley companies to catalyze change for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Member companies continue to make strides with diversity policies and the opportunity for maximum impact exists in collective effort throughout the Valley and our country. 25x25 is the collective action to operationalize change while also recognizing the business imperative for diversity + inclusion that will address a critical void in the national discourse.
Pledge 25x25: This initiative is a movement by leading Silicon Valley companies to catalyze change for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Member companies continue to make strides with diversity policies and the opportunity for maximum impact exists in collective effort throughout the Valley and our country. 25x25 is the collective action to operationalize change while also recognizing the business imperative for diversity + inclusion that will address a critical void in the national discourse.
To learn more about joining the committee, please contact rje@svlg.org
SVLG CEO Ahmad Thomas criticized the recent Supreme Court ruling against the use of race as a criterion for higher education admissions — rolling back long-standing precedents that permitted affirmative-action programs.
A number of dynamic Silicon Valley companies are heading to Sacramento on Tuesday, May 23, to participate in Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s (SVLG) annual Sacramento Advocacy Day — an event that brings delegation of business leaders to Sacramento for a series of conversations with key members of the executive and legislative branches of government.
The Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG) – the leading business association representing the innovation economy and its ecosystem – today announced the launch of three new Centers of Expertise (COEs) in support of the organization’s 2023 agenda: Accelerating the Next Era of Silicon Valley Leadership.
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