Caldwell Partners signs on with CEO Action, Black North Initiative

Excerpted from Canadian HR Reporter:

Looking to effectively change the face of workforces, Caldwell Partners has joined two groups dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion.

The executive search firm, which has offices in multiple countries, has joined CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, which includes more than 1,000 CEOs of companies around the world and first launched in 2017. Its goal is to “collectively take measurable action in advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”

“We felt it was time to make a stand in the marketplace, we felt that this coalition is really going to do some good work,” says John Wallace, president and CEO of Caldwell Partners International in Toronto.

Diversity and inclusion hasn’t been a strong impetus from companies from a hiring perspective, he says.

“I’m firmly convinced that this is probably the most exciting change that I have seen in my working career, where business is basically taking the initiative here and not waiting for legislation… I’m absolutely convinced this is going to be the start of sustainable and positive change for people of colour.”

It’s the repository of best practices that can be accessed by members of CEO Action that really piqued Caldwell’s interest, according to Wallace.

“We’re able to tap into this organization which is represented by a large group of Fortune companies that have both intent and resources to create best practices. The ability to be able to create and share those best practices is really one of the very, very strong attractions to this coalition.”

With political unrest against the unjustified killings of African-Americans happening around the world, the impetus to change is growing stronger and employers must address this desire for change, says Wallace.

“The social unrest that has come out of this time might have been exclusive of what’s going on now, and for people of colour it’s just been getting a lot more attention right now. Obviously, some of the tragic deaths have happened in the United States but systemic racism is not a primary ownership of the United States, it’s something that goes on across the world.”
Caldwell has also partnered with a new group called the Black North Initiative that is “committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians.”
Click here to read the full article.

Back to Insights

Stay on top of the latest intel across multiple industries and continents.