Seeking diversity and promoting inclusion

Since our very first days, Delta has been known for outstanding customer service and a service-focused culture that puts people first. But it is only in recent years that Delta has grown into a truly global airline, with service to nearly 60 countries and five continents. 

We serve a diverse array of communities and cultures, and I am proud that our core mission is to bring together people. To effectively serve the world, we want our 80,000 colleagues around the globe to reflect its diversity and be a model for inclusiveness.  

A few years ago, I made a personal commitment and signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment on advancing diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Since then, our organization as a whole has leaned in to take strategic action together.

I recently sat down with Keyra Lynn Johnson, Delta’s Managing Director – Global Diversity and Inclusion, to discuss our efforts specific to workforce diversity and why they have become fundamental to our business. 

Here's a few highlights from our conversation:

Me: Keyra, every large company talks about the importance of diversity. It’s much harder to implement a strategy to build and maintain a diverse work force. 

Keyra: You’re right Ed. First it’s important to understand that diversity and inclusion must go hand-in-hand. At Delta we’re working on building a solid foundation that seeks diversity and promotes inclusion, but we also know that accountability must be the third imperative. Our focus this year is driving that accountability to make sure we are living up to our commitments. 

Me: What are some of the steps Delta is taking toward promoting diversity? 

Keyra: We have made a strategic shift in our recruitment strategy and talent planning to keep diversity front and center. This requires what I like to call smart “fishing and farming.” There are times when we simply need to cast in different areas to find the diversity of talent. In some cases, we have to grow the talent we need. Where there is an underrepresentation of talent, we are making deliberate investments to find the talent we need now and grow the pipeline for the future. 

Me: What about inclusion? 

Keyra: Delta really sees inclusion as promoting a welcoming and understanding mindset. We believe inclusion gives diversity its true value. To keep it top of mind, thousands of our leaders and employees have participated in inclusion training and we have plans to expand that training this this year to reach even more and increase awareness on the societal issues surrounding unconscious bias. We also have 10 Business Resource Groups that encourage employees to bring diverse perspectives to the table as strategist and thought leaders on business issues. 

Me: And real accountability is the key to producing real results. 

Keyra: Absolutely. We have a goal to improve our overall diversity picture by 10 percentage points by 2020. And knowing that you, the Delta Leadership Committee and our Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Council review our progress quarterly, division leaders at Delta are held accountable to continue moving forward.  

Our values call for us to seek diversity and promote inclusion because it’s the right thing to do for Delta people, our customers, our suppliers and our communities. It’s also good for business – our diversity helps us better serve our customers worldwide.