As a purpose-driven organization, we look to enact positive change at systemic, community, and individual levels. We know that a culture of purpose helps to inspire our people, and many of our client engagements leverage our collective resources to drive social impact, strengthen our communities, and help change lives.
Purpose and DEI Office overview
We established the Purpose Office in 2021 to reflect our emphasis on building a better, sustainable future. At the same time, we redoubled our long-standing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In 2023, to better advance equity across our organization and in our communities, we integrated the Purpose Office with our DEI team to form the Purpose and DEI Office led by Chief Purpose and DEI Officer, Kwasi Mitchell. Integrating our purpose and DEI strategies allows us to better achieve our purpose mission: To make an impact that matters by creating trust and confidence in a more equitable society.
Our purpose and DEI strategy is focused on four areas: Social Impact, Sustainability, Equity, and Trust. We selected these areas of impact because they align closely with Deloitte’s Shared Values, our unique business capabilities, and the differentiated societal needs we are positioned to help address. We are continuing to embed these focus areas into every aspect of our internal operations, strategy, and decision-making and use them to coordinate our investments, donations, and pro bono work with nonprofits and other outside organizations.
Our focus areas
Sustainability
Embedding sustainable practices throughout our organization that reduce our carbon footprint and finding more equitable ways for society to approach climate solutions
Equity
Using our unique capabilities to remove systemic barriers to prosperity and create a culture and system that empowers all people to thrive and have fair access to opportunity
Trust
Living our values consistently through our responsible business practices and embedding ethical considerations and decision-making into the technology we develop and operate
Social Impact
Through bold commitment and integrated strategy, we aim to be the model for corporate philanthropy and social impact
Today, more than ever, we see the imperative to increase our collective impact. Through our people, the size, scale and breadth of our brand, and our ecosystem of clients and alliances, we are committed to help drive sustained change towards a more equitable society.
Supporting our people on their purpose journeys
We work to drive strong engagement, education, and programming to cultivate a strong purpose-driven culture throughout all levels of our organization. We also know how important it is to our people to give back in meaningful ways to their communities, which is why we offer a host of opportunities throughout the year for our people to apply their skills and experience.
Our high-level priorities include:
- Embedding purpose into recruiting and onboarding communications and experiences.
- Integrating purpose into learning and development for professionals at all levels to experience throughout their career journey.
- Providing experiences for our professionals to use their skills to support nonprofits and communities.
- Creating opportunities that incentivize and celebrate professionals for their purpose-driven work and inspire others to get involved.
- Developing purpose-driven goals and expectations, beginning with our most senior leaders, to encourage a culture of purpose and drive accountability.
We continuously seek ways to celebrate our people’s purpose-driven contributions. In 2023, we recognized 37 professionals who are serving as role models, making unique differences, and contributing to our collective purpose. As part of this recognition, Deloitte has donated more than $80,000 to nonprofits on behalf of award recipients.
- The Purpose MVP Award, established in 2022, recognizes professionals who are making an impact in one or more of our focus areas of Social Impact, Sustainability, Equity, and Trust, along with inspiring others to discover and live out their personal purpose.
- The Michelle Go Inclusive Leadership Award recognizes exemplary professionals who exhibit the inclusive leadership behaviors embodied by the late Michelle Go. As a trusted leader, Michelle set an example for all with her passion for DEI—particularly her focus on advancing the talent experience and professional development of women, bringing one’s authentic self and leadership to Deloitte, and being an impactful changemaker.
Learn more about some of our award recipients:
Donté Apperwhite (he/him) | Manager | Purpose MVP Award Recipient
Donté is seen as a selfless leader who spearheads a local Inclusion Council to build community and sense of belonging within the Los Angeles office, drives Deloitte’s support for Junior Achievement of Southern California, and manages the Make Accounting Diverse and Equitable (MADE) – Deloitte Academy: Accounting Edition team in the office. Donté’s warmth and service instantly makes anyone that steps into the office feel welcome and included.
Tara Buffi (she/her) | Senior Specialist | Purpose MVP Award Recipient
Tara is a co-founder of the Neurodiversity@Deloitte program, which helps drive recruitment and retention of professionals who identify as neurodiverse. Tara also co-founded our Neurodiversity Mentorship Program, leads Deloitte’s sponsorship with Disability:IN, and was a contributor to Deloitte scoring a perfect 100 on the Disability Equality Index. Each day, she exemplifies and advocates for the equity of all employees.
Ana Medina (she/her) | Manager | Michelle Go Inclusive Leadership Award Recipient
Ana’s commitment to DEI within our organization is evident from her many endeavors, including creating organization-wide DEI resources, being a member of the Latinas in Tech sponsorship team, and serving on the eminence review board for the DEI Institute™. Ana was also a member of our Chicago Hispanic/Latinx & Allies Community leadership team, where she created a Nonprofit Spotlight Series to amplify the missions of local community organizations. Outside of Deloitte, she served as a board member for her alma mater’s association for Hispanic alumni, where she piloted and led a professional development series for Hispanic and Latinx students.
In June 2022, Deloitte launched our Purpose Ambassador Network, which is an opt-in community comprising thousands of leaders and professionals who actively learn about purpose, shape our purpose strategy, and get involved. The Purpose Ambassador Network empowers our people to become champions of purpose by providing them with the resources and opportunities to engage their own networks. While the list is still growing, to date, more than 4,000 leaders and professionals are Ambassadors.
Since launching, we have generated strong engagement and activation of the network. Collectively, the network has facilitated five organization-wide town halls to solicit feedback and generate buzz. We also created an interactive platform featuring real-time opportunities for people to get involved in purpose and share their personal purpose journey with others.
Our high-level priorities include:
- Embedding purpose into recruiting and onboarding communications and experiences.
- Integrating purpose into learning and development for professionals at all levels to experience throughout their career journey.
- Providing experiences for our professionals to use their skills to support nonprofits and communities.
- Creating opportunities that incentivize and celebrate professionals for their purpose-driven work and inspire others to get involved.
- Developing purpose-driven goals and expectations, beginning with our most senior leaders, to encourage a culture of purpose and drive accountability.
Activating purpose with our clients
Purpose has long been at the core of Deloitte’s business strategy and our client relationships. In today’s complex, dynamic environment, Deloitte works alongside our clients as they chart their paths forward to advance their business strategies while also advancing their commitments to society. We help our clients take meaningful steps in their own purpose and DEI journeys.
By leveraging Deloitte’s unique assets—our purpose-driven workforce, global alliances, client relationships, cutting-edge capabilities, and experience—we are catalyzing the enhanced impact of doing good together. The opportunities to activate purpose with our clients and alliances have resulted in:
- New innovative programs, such as the Yes San Francisco (Yes SF) Urban Sustainability Challenge with World Economic Forum, Salesforce, Citi, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, and more than 20 organizations.
- Forums with leadership across organizations that enable open discussion, knowledge sharing, and connection building.
We are providing our leaders with greater visibility into the stories of our collective impact and equipping our workforce to activate purpose in the market. Through intentional engagement of our leaders, we are nurturing a growing portfolio of social impact collaborations. This organization-wide activation will continue to redefine what it means to be a trusted advisor in the market, a socially minded employer to our people, and a purpose-driven organization to the communities in which we live and work.
Monitor Institute by Deloitte
Monitor Institute by Deloitte works with social impact-focused organizations and their leaders, helping them advance progress on pressing societal challenges. The Monitor Institute by Deloitte's approach marries a deep grounding in strategy, networks and social movements, and human systems with the fundamentals of professional services.
Learn more about Monitor Institute by DeloitteIn collaboration with Deloitte Digital and Deloitte’s Higher Education Practice, the Monitor Institute by Deloitte team recently collaborated with UNCF (United Negro College Fund) to change the state of higher education at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with a digital solution that helps address inequities, increase accessibility, and bridge barriers.
HBCUv™ is a shared online platform for community learning where students, alumni, educators, and staff can learn, develop, and flourish together, from anywhere. The platform concept enables a community of lifelong learners, and creates an integrated student, faculty, and staff experience.
While the scientific “scenarios” regarding climate are getting clearer, what remains less clear is how the public, private, and social sectors will continue to respond to climate change and its implications for equity. The Monitor Institute by Deloitte’s report, Act Now: Future Scenarios and the Case for Equitable Climate Action, uses scenario planning to explore disparate possible futures for climate and equity in the coming decade.
The study engaged nearly 100 leaders across industries and sectors to understand the current state of climate change and climate equity, to imagine divergent ways the future might head, and to identify important lessons that can guide organizational decision-making moving forward.
Learn how we engage with clients to advance their purpose and social impact in other capacities:
Awards and recognition
Deloitte is proud of our long-standing dedication to purpose. While we understand that there will always be more to do, we are honored to be recognized as a purpose-driven enterprise for the impact we have had so far. Below are a few of our recent accolades, and to see the full listing, visit our Awards and recognition website.
Fortune named Deloitte one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the US, as well as one of the “World’s Best Workplaces.”
From Fortune. ©2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
For 17 consecutive years, Deloitte has earned a 100% rating on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and “Best Workplace for LGBTQ+ Equality” status.
Deloitte was recognized on PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care list in 2023 for fostering a culture of respect for our employees, communities, and the environment.
Deloitte was recognized on the PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care list in 2023. This list recognizes companies that take care of their bottom line while also displaying remarkable care for their people, their local communities, and the world at large.
Of those surveyed for this award, 91% of our Deloitte professionals surveyed said that “People care about each other here,” and 90% reported, “We have special and unique benefits here.”
Below are just a few of our professionals’ comments on why they are proud to tell others they work at Deloitte:
“We are trying to change the world beyond our four walls. Whether it’s leading the way in allyship or sustainability, we take a stand. We are shaping how business gets done and changing the world.”
“Deloitte genuinely wants you to be able to be your authentic self. There is also a great amount of opportunity to give back to the community, and that time is supported and recognized by the business.”
Deloitte was recognized on the PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care list in 2023. This list recognizes companies that take care of their bottom line while also displaying remarkable care for their people, their local communities, and the world at large.
Of those surveyed for this award, 91% of our Deloitte professionals surveyed said that “People care about each other here,” and 90% reported, “We have special and unique benefits here.”
Below are just a few of our professionals’ comments on why they are proud to tell others they work at Deloitte:
“We are trying to change the world beyond our four walls. Whether it’s leading the way in allyship or sustainability, we take a stand. We are shaping how business gets done and changing the world.”
“Deloitte genuinely wants you to be able to be your authentic self. There is also a great amount of opportunity to give back to the community, and that time is supported and recognized by the business.”
Deloitte is one of the most community-minded companies in the nation for the eighth year running, according to the Points of Light Foundation.
Other awards
From Fortune. ©2023 Fortune Media IP Limited. All rights reserved. Used under license.
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