100+ Corporations & Partner Organizations Support COVID-19 Action Agenda

Diversity Champions Collaborate to Address Social & Economic Impacts on Vulnerable Communities

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Apr 30, 2020, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascend has launched a consortium with ALPFA, Catalyst, The Conference Board, Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), National Organization on Disability (NOD), Out & Equal, Tanenbaum and 90+ Supporting Companies to address the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Today, we collectively call for our members, partners and associates to affirm the 5-Point Action Agenda:

Promote Inclusion: Advocate for a diverse and inclusive workplace and society
Raise Awareness: Highlight the unique impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups
Denounce Bias: Encourage individuals to report virus-linked discriminatory acts against Pan-Asians and other targeted groups and communities in the workplace and in public
Support Communities: Contribute time, knowledge and / or other resources to aid frontline workers, COVID-19 victims and families
Give Donations: Provide funds and / or other resources to support vulnerable populations of people and impacted businesses

Our ten organizations advocate for members of underserved communities that are particularly vulnerable to public health crises and economic downturns. Together, we pledge to combat stigma, biases associating Pan-Asians with the novel coronavirus, and all forms of discrimination based on age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation and veteran status. Each of our organizations has delivered COVID-19 programming including educational webinars and Executive Town Halls, ERG support programs, engaged in fundraising efforts to support front line workers and procuring PPEs, and published resource guides to assist diverse groups. Additionally, we are working with key CEO driven coalitions such as CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion to advance awareness and education of virus-linked bias at the highest levels of the business community.

To date, over 90 companies from cross sectors have joined to support the Action Agenda including Accenture, Adobe, AlixPartners, Amazon, American Airlines, American Express, AT&T, Aviation Capital Group, Bank of America, Bayer, BBVA, BDO USA, LLP, BNY Mellon, Boeing, Capgemini, Campbell Soup Company, Capital Group, Capital One, The Carlyle Group, Cisco, The Coca-Cola Company, CohnReznick, Cox Enterprises, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank USA Corp, DLA Piper, DSM, The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), East West Bank, Edward Jones, Equilar, ExecComm LLC, Expedia Group, Experian, E4H Environments for Health Architecture, EY, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Google, The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, Intel, Interpublic Group, JP Morgan Chase, KPMG, Legg Mason, Lockheed Martin Corporation, L'Oréal, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Lululemon, Manulife & John Hancock, Marriott International, Inc., MassMutual, McCormick & Company, Medtronic, Mercedes-Benz USA, Merck, MetLife, Micro Focus, Misumi USA, Morgan Stanley, NBA, Novartis, Palo Alto Networks, Panasonic Corporation of North America, PepsiCo, Pfizer, PIMCO, Procter and Gamble, Protiviti, Prudential Financial, PSEG, Publicis Groupe, PwC, RSM US LLC, RBC, Sanofi, Scotiabank, Sodexo, Sun Life, Synchrony, TPG, Uber, UBS, Under Armour, United Airlines, U.S. Bank, U. S. Steel, Walmart, Wells Fargo and WNBA.

"We applaud the 100 + companies and organizations collaborating with us to drive actions that safeguard protections for diverse groups and underrepresented employee segments," said Anna Mok, President, Ascend, "This commitment reinforces the importance of our 5-Point Action Agenda. We call on additional companies and organizations to join this consortium and help us accelerate progress together."

About Ascend and Ascend Foundation

Ascend (@AscendLeader) is the largest, non-profit Pan-Asian membership organization for business professionals and executives in North America. Established in 2005, Ascend, a career lifecycle organization, reaches 60,000+ senior executives, professionals, and MBA/undergraduate students involved in its 50+ chapters in the United States and Canada. The Ascend Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit Pan-Asian organization primarily engaged in research with a mission to advocate, enable Pan-Asian business leaders to reach their full potential, and provide scholarships to honor students who demonstrate scholastic excellence, leadership, and commendable community service. Visit www.ascendleadership.org for more information.

Contact:
Peyen Fong
[email protected]
212-248-4888

SOURCE Ascend