WHEREAS:

“Structural racism is the overarching system of racial bias across institutions and society. These systems give privileges to white people resulting in disadvantages to people of color,” thereby imposing a cultural hierarchy among racial groups;

The Harvard Business Review explains that “[c]ompanies must confront racism at a systemic level – addressing everything from the structural and social mechanics of their own organizations to the role they place in the economy at large”;

A 2020 Citigroup study found that since 2000 the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) has lost $16 trillion as a result of discrimination against African Americans and that reversing discriminatory practices could boost U.S. GDP by $5 trillion in the next five years;

Tema Okun, a veteran racial justice facilitator, illustrates the insidious nature of white supremacist culture by explaining that “[c]ulture is powerful precisely because it is so present and at the same time so very difficult to name or identify.” Cultural racism can manifest as people of color being ignored, overly criticized, undermined, or assumed as inferior; strict cultural norms or criticisms of physical appearances or manners of speech. Cultural racism can cause long-term psychological damage;

While Intel’s CSR Report indicates that “over the past decade, we have taken actions to deeply integrate diversity and inclusion expectations into our culture…” the Proponent notes that only 5% of the company’s U.S. workforce is African American and 10.5% are Hispanic/Latinx, despite making up over 12% and 18% of the country’s population, respectively;

Concerningly, “underrepresented minorities” (URMs) are further underrepresented in senior leadership. While URMs make up 16% of the company workforce, only 7.6% of leadership roles are held by employees in these groups;

While the company has set goals related to representation in senior leadership, it has not reported if or how it intends to address corporate culture issues that may be the root problem. Proponents believe that long-term value creation could be advanced through an analysis of whether and how systemic racism is embedded in company culture, policies, and procedures.