From my Purpose vantage point: Investing in equity

When working as a research chemist years ago, I never would have imagined that the lessons I learned then would be so relevant to what I do today as a Chief Purpose Officer. That work taught me the important effect of different elements coming together as a catalyst—a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction. Today’s pressing socio-economic challenges are in need of a catalyst to help hasten the creation of a more equitable society. And it’s imperative that we work together to catalyze collective action that can address these issues. That’s why Deloitte’s Purpose Office is better focusing its investment strategy so we can more accurately direct our skills, assets, time, and resources to make an outsized impact in a world with oversized challenges.

Working with a number of groups, including The Monitor Institute by Deloitte, we’ve determined the appropriate leverage point for our purpose-driven efforts: the equity imperative. That’s because equity is at the core of a better future and therefore at the core of Deloitte’s purpose. Under this rubric, we’re devoting our efforts to addressing three areas vital to helping build an equitable society: education and workforce development, financial inclusion, and health equity.

Each of these three areas speak to our values and who we are as an organization. Moreover, research—both by Deloitte as well as other organizations—indicates that these focus areas are what have habitually set people back and prevented them from achieving healthy, vibrant, and successful lives.

Over the last two years, we’ve seen how the pandemic has magnified inequities, and that’s why we committed to gaining traction in those areas and making an impact that matters.

Quality education and training prepares individuals for the evolving workforce and is an important component to economic mobility. But inequitable access to both can prevent people from systemically disadvantaged communities from securing jobs that allow for upward mobility. Deloitte’s demonstrated record in and commitment to education and workforce development—both in our communities and within Deloitte—are informing our efforts to help advance education, enhance skills, and create career opportunities in underserved communities.

Access to financial opportunities, as well as the tools and mechanisms required for individuals to fully participate in the economy, are not equally distributed. As a result, those who face the greatest barriers are often unable to reach their full economic potential. Given our organization’s history and relationships in the financial space, we have both the moral responsibility and resources to increase financial inclusion by bringing together key players – including policymakers, C-suites executives, and other influential leaders – to collaborate on tackling the systemic barriers to financial inclusion.

People from systematically disadvantaged communities have disparate health outcomes. COVID-19 laid bare these inequalities, highlighting structural biases inherit in the health system and creating a clear call to address racism as a public health crisis. Given the findings of our research  on access to healthcare, Deloitte established The US Deloitte Health Equity Institute to help overcome disparities in the drivers of health, including racism and bias, as well as structural flaws in the health system.  

We are making good on these commitments by capitalizing on the broad and deep experience of our people. Together we’re co-creating long-term solutions with clients and nonprofits and facilitating cross-sector collaboration among for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations as well as civic and governmental agencies. And we’ve made our decisions and choices with a specific goal: to achieve greater impact and results by making sustained investments in fewer, more impactful projects in the communities in which we live and work.

The pandemic has helped crystallize our thinking and has underscored the importance of these three key areas and how they are interrelated. Case in point are the countless dedicated workers who were designated as “essential” yet often receive minimum wages and have very limited access to quality healthcare or financial services themselves. Of course, we realize the unprecedented order of magnitude that these issues present to our society and nation and appreciate that the challenges are bigger than any single entity can address alone. But we’re not to be deterred.

By working together in a concerted and focused fashion, we can catalyze collective action to develop the solutions our society needs. That way we can expand the pathways to opportunity and economic mobility so that all individuals can live healthy, fulfilled lives.

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the “Deloitte” name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

 Copyright ? 2022 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.