Our Commitment to Change

I have always believed that leaders are people with the vision and judgment to lead during times of change – especially when change is hard. That has never been more evident than now as society faces urgent problems of social injustice and entrenched racism.

Our Executive Leadership Team has come together to formulate our “Commitment to Change,” actions we at Otis are taking to ensure our colleagues are valued for who they are — and that different perspectives are welcomed and heard. As a company, we have long dedicated ourselves to building a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture. Yet we recognize that we too can do better.

Last month, we shared these commitments with our 69,000 colleagues around the world. Because we are a newly independent, publicly traded company – with customers in 200 countries and territories, ties to countless local communities and many new and engaged investors – I am pleased to also share our commitments publicly.

Here is Our Commitment to Change as shared with our global workforce:

Dear Otis Colleagues:

Recent Black deaths and subsequent protests across cities in the United States and more than 60 other countries remind us once again that entrenched racism and social injustice remain among society's most urgent problems. Yet we're also presented with a historic opportunity: joining together to address these wrongs, so they do not define the future in the way they have shaped the past.

As leaders here at Otis, we are proud of our company's long commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Yet we also know there is more to be done if we are to become the company we want to be: An equal-opportunity employer of choice for people of broad perspectives and experiences, cultures, genders, sexual orientation, races, and generations. A business whose workforce mirrors the diversity of our customers and the communities where we live and work. A place where every voice feels safe, welcomed and heard.

To ensure we live up to these aspirations, we are today announcing Our Commitment to Change, a framework to help us identify and prioritize the actions we need to take.

• Conduct an independent review of Otis to uncover and eliminate biases affecting any of our colleagues in our hiring, compensation, professional development and other business practices.
• Accelerate anti-racism, unconscious bias and inclusion learning for employees at all levels of the organization and throughout their Otis careers.
• Create an advisory group, Perspectives on Inclusion, to ensure transparency and hold us accountable for achieving measurable progress toward a diverse, inclusive culture.
• Amplify our ongoing commitment to STEM and vocational education, as we join with community and business partners to invest in and build a diverse talent pipeline.
• Make social justice and racial equity an integral part of our community giving, volunteerism and external reporting programs.
• Promote and expand mental health and well-being benefits, policies and practices to support our colleagues.

Lasting, meaningful change does not happen overnight. This is the beginning of a process to assess and expand what we do well and, importantly, to identify any gaps so we can develop and implement solutions for improvement. We know there will be difficult conversations and decisions ahead. Only when we are courageous enough to confront these challenges will we be able to create the workplace, communities and the world we seek to build.

#WeAreOtis