Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

A Healthier Place for All: W2O is passionate about making the world a healthier place for everyone – the clients we serve, the communities we support and the people who drive the work we do every day.

To fulfill our mission, we are committed to
cultivating a diverse culture and community
that’s reflective of the world around us. Because
we are #bettertogether we are focused on
facilitating understanding, overcoming biases
and bringing different voices and perspectives to
the table for holistic programming
and breakthrough thinking.

How We Are Making It Happen, Together

Inspire the next generation of people of color to work in our business. Cast wider nets and build more bridges with historically black colleges and universities, preparing the future workforce for the day we hire them
Retain and advance diverse talent for the long term. Take concrete actions and measure accountability. Make sure everyone is respected, valued, and has equal opportunity to grow & advance. Make allyship and sponsorship real and immediate.
Listen to Business Resource Groups and employees of color. Seek guidance and leadership from these powerful voices to drive collaboration, co-creation and accountability.

Our Approach

True to W2O’s culture and mission, we leverage our people and network to build inclusive and supportive communities; facilitate conversations that provide listening and learning opportunities for our people and clients; and collaborate with industry partners and experts to strengthen our expertise, nurture our talent and advance our thought leadership – all so we can deliver on our commitment to becoming a leading force in diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).

Our Commitment in Action

We foster an environment that embraces diversity by designing initiatives and strategies that attract and develop the most talented individuals, and by partnering with organizations focusing on inclusion. Diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives not only spark creativity and innovation, but ensure that every voice is welcome and heard. Some of our partners include:

The LAGRANT Foundation
Opening doors for minorities by providing the necessary resources and tools required for entering the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations.

The Center for Excellence in Life (TCEL)
Empowering students and young professionals in the unstoppable pursuit of excellence through cultivating creative, academic, professional, entrepreneurial and life skills.

Howard University
Preparing diverse, talented and ambitious students to learn, lead and embody excellence in truth and service.

Emma Bowen Foundation
Recruiting and placing students of color in paid internships at leading media, PR and technology companies.

W2O’s Diversity and Inclusion Council

Our DE&I council plays an important role at the company, including support of our existing Business Resource Groups (BRGs), which are dedicated to ensuring equality, inclusion and championing at every level of the organization. We currently have five BRGs that create community-building, learning and professional development experiences for our people, clients and networks: Evolve, Women of W2O, W2Out, W2O Families and W2O Fusion, with plans to develop more in the future. Additionally, W2O’s Diversity and Inclusion council leads initiatives that focus specifically on recruitment, education, partnerships and more.

W2O’s Current Business Resource Groups

W2O Fusion focuses on the inclusion of multicultural employees, advancing POVs and facilitating mentorship

W2O Out focuses on fostering a culture of inclusivity and support for LGBTQ+ individuals & allies

Women of W2O aims to level the playing field by providing professional resources, fostering networking and
elevating women via though leadership

W2O Families aims to create a forum for working parents where they can discuss opportunities and challenges and learn from one another

Evolve exists to create a community of peers who are sharing similar professional milestones or situations

Community and Giving Back

Doing the right thing. It’s pretty simple, and there are many ways this comes to life at W2O. We give our time and our skills through pro bono efforts. We give money. We bring groups together for a common good. And we support our employees.

In response to the death of George Floyd, W2O made substantial donations to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, two nonprofits working to address racial inequity. W2O also has a matching program for employee donations to support organizations and causes that are important to our people. Additionally, W2O made a significant donation to the Black Economic Alliance led by Dr. Tony Coles, CEO of Cerevel Therapeutics.

W2O partnered with the Black Coalition Against COVID (BCAC) offering pro bono support that included using analytics to understand messages and developing personas to guide social interactions, creating messaging related to clinical trial participation and a social media playbook, and promoting the BCAC-sponsored town hall event.

W2O raised nearly a quarter million dollars as part of NEAR, providing 2 million surgical masks to underserved communities like the Navajo Nation, NYC Homeless Services and opioid treatment centers.

Launched a new W2O company called Hu focused on patient activation and diversity in clinical trials.

W2O joined the Diversity Action Alliance (DAA), committing us to making an impACT on the industry. This includes Adopting best practices, Championing the cause and Tracking our diversity data.

Diversity and Inclusion Progress: Our Report Card

We know the importance of measuring and transparently reporting our progress against our DE&I goals. As a starting place – here is where we have been:

In 2018, our non-white employee population represented approximately 20% of our total employees who chose to report race, and board/c-suite level non-white representation was about 15%.
In 2019, we were acquired by New Mountain Capital. We then acquired several companies and hired more people, which more than doubled our employee population. As a result, we don’t have verified, updated census data for 2019 though we believe it’s approximately the same percentage as 2018. Board/c-suite level non-white representation is also the same as 2018. Over the next few years as we continue to grow, we plan to achieve more than 20% non-white representation at the board/c-suite level and more than 30% in our full employee population.

Starting in 2021, we will set diversity targets and share updated metrics and our overall progress twice a year.

How We Listen and Learn

Following is a snapshot of the conversations we are having on diversity and inclusion in our industry.

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