The 5 DEI commitments that every business can aspire to make

Because a four-year degree may no longer be required for every career, companies can invest in skills-based programmes to find critical talent.

Micron Technology recently released its sixth annual diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) report, detailing the company’s progress in meeting its five DEI commitments.

These commitments, HRO believes, will be useful for any organisation looking to invest more time and resources into a strategic DEI strategy, thus we have listed them out below, alongwith an example or an excerpt from the report purposed for explaining the commitment further. Read on:

1/ Increase hiring from nontraditional pathways, underrepresented groups and disadvantaged populations.

Because a four-year degree may no longer be required for every technical semiconductor career, Micron is investing in skills-based programmes to find critical talent and create new pathways to good-paying jobs. The team is intentionally focusing on rural and underrepresented areas, which have not historically been exposed to STEM opportunities. This could include support for:

• Military veterans for transitioning to civilian careers
• Those reentering the workforce, such as refugees and military spouses who have taken a career break
• Working parents 

2/ Drive equitable pay and inclusive benefits.

In FY23, Micron took several steps to support the unique needs of LGBTQ+ team members, including publishing its first LGBTQ+ benefits guide. The benefits listed out in the guide include:

• Advocacy and concierge resources, such as healthcare providers who understand the needs of an LGBTQ+ person,
• A digital programme with free daily sessions of evidence-based stress-reduction and mindfulness techniques that can help improve wellbeing,
• Family-oriented leave such as family leave to welcome a new child, surgical recovery, including for gender-affirming surgery, and more.

3/ Champion advocacy and strengthen the culture of inclusion.

One of the ways of creating an inclusive culture is Micron’s employee resource groups (ERGs) — diverse groups of team members who share common interests, backgrounds or demographic factors such as gender, ethnicity or experiences. As of FY23, the company has 10 global ERGs with 92 chapters, and nearly half its workforce — more than 47% — belongs to at least one ERG. 

All ERGs are inclusive, do not limit participation and are open to all. These groups are listed below:

• Asian American and Pacific Islander Network (AAPIN)
• Black Employee Network (BEN)
• Capable
• Micron Hispanic Professionals (HPN)
• Mosaic
• PRIDE+ Allies
• Tenured & Experienced @ Micron (TE@M)
• Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG)
• Micron Young Professionals (MYP)
• Micron Women's Leadership Network (MWLN)

4/ Engage with diverse financial institutions for cash management.

Another way to engage in strategic DEI is to make intentional investments with financial institutions committed to providing capital and financial services to underserved communities. These investments have a multiplying effect on the economies of underrepresented communities. They also help to promote diversity on Wall Street.

In FY23, Micron achieved its goal to grow fixed income investments managed by diverse financial institutions to US$750mn. It also became a founding member of the White House’s Economic Opportunity Coalition, a public-private partnership committed to unlocking the potential of communities of colour, low-income communities, rural areas and other historically underserved communities.

Essentially, such efforts to invest in diverse financial institutions can help to ensure underrepresented communities have access to capital.

5/ Increase diverse supplier representation and spending. 

In building a sustainable supplier ecosystem, Micron focuses on the following pillars of impact.

The first pillar is direct impact, which encompasses the sourcing that Micron does directly and includes its end-to-end procurement processes and the systems, tools and policies that enable and govern its work. Examples include database tools to identify diverse businesses, sourcing platforms that are configured to measure inclusion in competitive bids, and policies that prioritise diverse businesses in new sourcing.

Indirect impact is the second pillar, whereby it encourages its suppliers to have their own supplier diversity programmes in place. Micron works with these  suppliers to set targets and help them to build their own capabilities.

Ecosystem impact is the third pillar, whereby investments are made in partnerships to support the growth and success of diverse businesses through greater access, capacity building, advocacy, and training.

Industry impact is the fourth pillar, whereby the objective is work with peers, customers and suppliers to develop best practices and drive awareness and adoption throughout the global supply chain.

ALSO READ: Fostering an inclusive workplace for persons with intellectual disabilities: Your how-to guide

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