PBN 2022 Diversity Equity & Inclusion Awards
Health Care – Enterprise Company: CVS Health Corp.
A DIVERSE WORKFORCE is something that CVS Health Corp. considers its greatest strength. In fact, diversity is a key pillar in the Woonsocket-based company’s board of directors’ charter.
“Our diversity, equity and inclusion work has a positive impact on our colleague experience, influences our relationship with the communities we serve, and guides how we conduct business and with whom,” said Shaweta Pandey, CVS’ executive director of strategic diversity management.
Pandey said CVS believes that a diverse workforce creates a healthier, stronger and more sustainable company. It is why, Pandey says, the company aims to attract, develop, retain and support a diverse workforce that reflects the colleagues and communities it serves.
CVS’ diversity management strategy emphasizes more than just hiring diverse candidates. It also prioritizes workplace representation, inclusion and belonging, talent acquisition and management and a diverse marketplace.
Pandey also said CVS developed a Diversity Management Leadership Council, a cross-functional group of senior leaders appointed by CEO and President Karen S. Lynch, to work with CVS’ strategic diversity management leadership team and intentionally embed diversity across all facets of the business.
In July 2020, CVS announced an investment of almost $600 million to advance employee, community and public policy initiatives targeting inequality faced by Black people and other disenfranchised communities. Since 2021, CVS’ investments have been focusing on improving the employee experience, supporting communities the company serves and influencing public policy.
By the end of 2025, CVS will have invested close to $600 million in various areas designed to build on its commitment to diversity, including mentoring, sponsorship, development and advancement of diverse employees; companywide training and corporate culture programs, with a focus on promoting inclusion; and social determinants of health, with a particular emphasis on increasing access to affordable housing, which is inextricably linked to health.
This year, CVS was ranked No. 28 on DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list for excellence in diversity best practices, No. 8 for Top Companies for Employee Resource Groups and No. 12 for Top Companies for Native American and Pacific Islander Executives.
Meanwhile, CVS continues to hold its position on the Billion Dollar Roundtable, an organization that recognizes and celebrates companies that achieve spending of at least $1 billion with certified diverse suppliers that are minority- or women-owned.
The company also received a 100% score on the Disability Equality Index, and was included in LatinaStyle’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity and the Bloomberg Gender Equality Index.
Over the past two years, the racial and ethnic diversity of the company’s overall workforce increased from 47% to 58% and its pharmacist workforce increased in racial and ethnic diversity from 43% to 45%.
The company’s programs target colleagues who identify as Asian and Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ and women. CVS also has seen a 100% increase over prior years in the hiring and promotion of Black and Hispanic colleagues to executive positions, while 58% of new colleagues identify as racially or ethnically diverse, more than twice the average percentage of the U.S. population.
The company’s recruitment and training systems target young workers, mature workers, veterans, people with disabilities and others who often face barriers to gainful employment. CVS also partners with community organizations and local, state and federal workforce agencies to provide employment services in training people from communities with less access to job opportunities.
Regarding representation, 39% of CVS’ board of directors are women, and 31% are of diverse backgrounds. Forty-seven percent of the Diversity Management Leadership Council are women and 26% are of diverse backgrounds. Since 2020, the company has seen continued improvement in gender representation in leadership, with significant increases in female and Black/African American representation.
Pandey said that CVS continues to be inspired by the positive reception its diversity and social impact work has earned, both from its colleagues and customers.
“While the feedback has been encouraging, we know we have much work ahead of us – and we remain committed to doing that work on behalf of our colleagues, our communities and for our business,” Pandey said.
