In 2020, Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf joined a long list of executives that shared thoughts on the lack of diversity in certain high-paying industries, citing “a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from.” Although he later released an apology, there’s no denying the weight of his words, and that they reflect the sentiment of other C-suite decision-makers.
In an effort to combat unconscious bias in the labor force, United Airlines recently announced a new collaboration with OneTen, a coalition of leading chief executives and their companies committed to creating one million family-sustaining careers for Black talent with opportunity for advancement over the next 10 years.
“Joining OneTen will build on our current talent practices to further develop, retain and advance diverse talent to positions across the airline, better reflecting the customers and communities United serves,” said United Chief Executive Officer, Scott Kirby in a news release, who also serves as chair of the Business Roundtable’s Education and Workforce Committee. “I look forward to learning from and working with other companies to close the opportunity gap for Black talent and increase opportunities for underrepresented groups in our workforce.”
Joining more than 60 companies as part of the OneTen coalition, they’ve committed to significantly increasing the hiring of Black talent without four-year college degrees into family-sustaining jobs by improving their hiring, retention, upskilling, and advancement practices to support diverse talent.
“OneTen is taking a different approach to job creation by challenging the status quo and barriers that have impeded Black talent. It can be difficult to think differently about recruiting talent based on their skills, not just their college degree, but that is exactly what we need to do,” said OneTen CEO Maurice Jones. “We are delighted that United has taken on that challenge. Together, we will work to create a new hiring ecosystem that will advance Black talent in the airline industry.”