In August 2020, Delta’s CEO, Ed Bastian, stated that the airline is committed to racial justice and diversity.
“We’ve also taken a hard look at our own record on diversity. People of color currently represent 43 percent of Delta’s current employees, 35 percent of our overall leaders, and 18 percent of our top 100 officers, Bastian said. “But our Black colleagues represent 21 percent of our employee base, 16 percent of overall leaders, and 7 percent of our top 100 officers.”
.@Delta CEO Ed Bastian memo: Taking action on racial justice, diversity https://t.co/cOoEmjMw7Q
— Delta News Hub (@DeltaNewsHub) August 11, 2020
Bastian noted that as the leader of the Airlines company, he will be taking ownership of their performance and is committed to correcting their wrongs.
“That is not a picture of equity, nor is it reflective of the world we serve,” Bastian said. “As your leader, I take ownership of that performance and am committed to correcting our course as we become a more just, equal, and anti-racist company.”
In the memo, Bastian listed the airlines’ actions to apply the new inclusion strategies within its company, including increasing the number of Black leaders to reflect the total number of employees and evaluating every Delta contract to ensure that suppliers adhere to anti-racist policies.
With Hampton University as the first HBCU to join Delta’s pilot program, perhaps Delta is off to a good start.