Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Our Aspiration
Chief was created to maximize the leadership impact of women executives. We believe the diversity of our community makes us exponentially more impactful, and our vision is a future where one's race, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, disability or nationality is not a barrier to leadership.
- The system isn't built equally for everyone, and we want our community to welcome executive leaders who have traditionally been underrepresented.
- We will hold ourselves accountable to deliver on tangible actions that embed equity and inclusion throughout the entire Chief ecosystem.
- We strive to become a place where all people are able to give their highest unique contribution to create a community of exceptional leaders.
Our Community
Our Goal
In addition to our executive leadership membership criteria, we strive to build a diverse community that serves multiple and intersecting identities. We welcome leaders who identify as a woman, transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming.
At launch, we set the goal to have 36% of the Chief community identify as a member of color. We based this on a study showing that only 18% of women at the VP level and above identified as part of communities of color (Source: McKinsey Women in the Workplace Report 2018).
Representation
This is a demographic breakdown of our community across race and ethnicity.
Additional data on representation within our community includes:
• 3.7% of Chief Members identify as LGBTQIA+
• 70% of Chief Members are parents
• The ages of our members span across five decades
Expanding Access to the Chief Membership
Chief’s Grant Program was developed to reduce the financial barrier for executives who have historically faced identity-based inequity and those employed in the non-profit sector. In 2022, we gave $5 million in grants. In 2023, we gave $6 million in grants.
Programming
Our greatest strength is the thousands of intersecting identities represented across our community. We want to celebrate those identities and experiences by creating space for our members to connect and learn across their differences. We do this through co-building with communities to ensure identity is represented throughout the Chief experience:
- Intersectional identity groups
- Heritage and History Month celebrations
- Representation in the speakers and thought leaders in our Chief-led programming and events represented
Thought Leadership
We publish hundreds of articles intended to redefine what power should look like in corporate America by highlighting the intersectional experience of leaders across their gender, race, and age.
Our editorial content provides executives with the knowledge and tools they need to create more inclusive workplaces, including how to pursue racial justice, enact corporate social responsibility, or create inclusionary policies.
By reporting on how to create corporate change through provocative leadership, our editorial aims to inspire executives to build a more equitable future for all.
Our Guidelines
Chief’s mission is to maximize the leadership impact of women executives, and our community guidelines are grounded in our values — powerful, inclusive, real, curious, time travel. They inform the behaviors we expect members to embody and uphold and are part of our effort to create in-person and virtual environments that foster dignity, safety, and respect.
We have a zero-tolerance policy for any hateful or illegal behavior, including harassment, discriminatory, derogatory, or racist behaviors that threaten the sense of dignity, well-being, and safety of our members.
Accessibility Statement
Our Commitment
At Chief, we believe in the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and strive to ensure that everyone, including those with disabilities, can meaningfully engage in our activities and services. We are committed to creating an accessible environment for all members. Our efforts to promote accessibility are guided by the principles of equal access across the member experience and continuously improving our accessibility initiatives.
Our Accessibility Initiatives
Technology and Digital Accessibility
We are committed to developing our digital platforms and technologies to be accessible, following best practices for web accessibility standards (WCAG).
Event and Program Accessibility
We strive to make all events and programs inclusive and accessible. This may involve providing sign language interpreters, ensuring venues are wheelchair-accessible, and accommodating dietary restrictions.
Physical Accessibility
We work to ensure that our physical spaces are accessible to individuals with mobility challenges. This includes ramps, alternative routes of ingress and egress, elevators, and designated restrooms.
Communication and Information
We are committed to providing accessible information and communications. We are working to ensure that alternative formats are offered for digital materials and captioning for videos.
Impact Beyond Chief
Our impact strategy is an extension of Chief’s mission, focused on leveraging the power of our resources and network to reduce barriers to brilliance for the next generation of leaders.
Through our varied partnerships and events, we aim to increase career opportunities for girls and young people, and leaders of color. We're also proud to be a signature partner of Girls Inc’s National Project Accelerate program, which focuses on accelerating young women’s trajectories through college and career entry.
We believe it is our responsibility to leverage our clubhouses and our network of leaders to invest in girls and young people to ensure that the next generation of progressive, intersectional leadership can be maximized. We work with organizations on the local level to connect our members to the next generation of leaders and support nonprofits focused on career access and advancement through usage of our clubhouse spaces.We also have a number of member-led groups intended to mobilize those interested in social impact. One example is our Moving the Needle group which has more than 1,000 members and meets regularly to organize and support senior women leaders in making a greater social and environmental impact. We’re also proud to host events within our clubhouses that connect our members to pressing issues that impact both their leadership and the wider community.
Since Chief launched in 2019, we’ve donated to critical causes where Chief has a voice in the conversation on leadership and gender. Over the past five years we have:
- Donated over $500,000 to causes aimed to address women and people of color having power and agency, including donating to support intersectional reproductive rights, affirmative action, and LGBTQ rights.
- Donated $50,000 to support Global Fund for Women’s Crisis Fund, which supports crises through grassroots gender justice movements around the world, to transform power and privilege for a few into equity and equality for all.
Leveraging Our Voice
At Chief, we know our voice is best used on issues at the intersection of leadership and gender. When world events happen that are hurtful or harmful to our members, we will do what we do best: convene and gather in community to support our members and/or create content to help them hone their own leadership skills to lead through these moments as well. We’ve honed in on where we — our voice and resources — can have the greatest impact as an organization.
For more information, reach out to [email protected].
Our Team
Representation
Since Chief was founded, we have been intentional about our leadership team representing the communities where we work and live. We believe it is imperative to have diverse perspectives at the decision-making table. Our team is our differentiator and strength. We are brought together by a shared belief in our mission to maximize the impact of women executives. Our team members' diverse lived experiences, knowledge, and perspectives bring an empathetic approach to help build and support our network of executives across the gender spectrum.
Some specific call-outs:
- Our leadership team is 87% women and 33% people of color
- Our Board of Directors is 66% women and 33% people of color
Chief Collectives
We’re building a culture where everyone is heard and everyone is valued. Our equitable culture is supported by our ERGs, which we call The Chief Collectives.
Our Collectives include:
API Collective, Black Collective, Early in Career Collective, First Gen Collective, Global Collective, Jewish Collective, Latinx Collective, LGBTQIA+ Collective, and Neurodiverse Collective.
We were proud to be named a Diversity Hiring Leader by Canvas and strive to ensure Chief continues to be an inclusive and supportive place to work for all of our employees.