Take action - 2019 MLK Day speech

Yesterday I had the honor of speaking at the Martin Luther King Day celebration in St. Paul. I shared my perspective on the incredible life and legacy of Dr. King, and also some of the work 3M is doing to inspire young people – especially those who are disadvantaged – to pursue a STEM career. Below are my remarks. Thank you to Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan for hosting a fantastic event.

Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan: thank you for hosting this gathering, and for the invitation to speak. 3M is global in every sense. Yet for more than 100 years, we have been proud to call this state our home. On behalf of our company and our 16,000 employees in Minnesota: it’s an honor to be part of this special day.

Let me start by recognizing the importance of Martin Luther King Day. Today is an opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, including the values, he fought for: empathy, inclusion and equality. Through celebrations like this, he continues to inspire us to do so much more: as individuals, as organizations and as a society.

We can also find inspiration by recognizing the progress in realizing Dr. King’s dream. We see examples here today: Mayor Carter, the first African-American mayor of St. Paul; Representative Omar, the first Somali-American in Congress; Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel to space.

One of the key tenets of leadership is facing reality. It helps focus our organizations on the actions that are required for success. Facing reality on this day tells us that much more needs to be done. Success stories like those we recognize today are too often the exception, not the rule. We cannot have true equality when African Americans are more likely to be incarcerated, drop out of high school, and live in poverty. Nor when black joblessness is still twice the rate of whites, and it’s been that way for the last 50 years.

Addressing these things is bigger than any one law, or the efforts of any one state or organization. It requires our combined efforts. And the business community has the opportunity and responsibility to lead. As CEO, I commit to ensuring 3M is doing our part.

Our organization’s journey toward becoming the most diverse and inclusive enterprise we can be has many dimensions. It can be seen in our focus on developing all 3Mers – every single one, no matter where you are in the organization. This is a key to achieving our goal to double our pipeline of diverse talent by 2025.

It can be seen in our requirement for a diverse slate of candidates for every hire we make. And it can be seen in our sponsorship of employee groups, such as our African-American and Women’s Leadership networks, which both recently celebrated more than 40 years of making a big impact in 3M.

It’s also reflected in our progress. Half of our top 100 leaders now diverse, and women represent 30% of our Board. Still, there is much more to do. I hold myself and our leadership team personally accountable to deliver even greater progress.

Our commitment is also behind the $1.6 billion we have contributed in community investments throughout our history – much of it here in the Twin Cities, and much of it for education.

We’ve all heard the saying, “Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” Yet too many people don’t have bootstraps they need to pull themselves up. Education can be those bootstraps. It can help spread economic opportunity to all.

This is especially true for STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – which is the theme of today’s event. As a science company, we know well that science is key to solving the world’s challenges – whether it’s air quality, health care, safety. STEM also prepares people for great careers, as more and more jobs require those skills. Walk through any 3M manufacturing facility, for example, and you’ll see 3D printers, robotics, and digital systems. All those things need high-skilled people to operate and analyze.

It was Martin Luther King who said, “If a person doesn’t have job or income, they have neither life, liberty, or possibility of pursuit of happiness.” Facing this reality requires us to confront some stubborn facts. One of these is the STEM gap: only one in seven en-gi-neers is a woman. And only one in 50 is an African- American woman. This is not due to a lack of ability or in-ter-est. They need to be encouraged and inspired.

Earlier we honored Katherine Coleman Johnson. She’s had many recognitions in addition to today. Her life was turned into a blockbuster movie. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama. She even has her own Barbie doll. And last year she really arrived when young girls began dressing up as her for Halloween. Imagine all the young people – especially young African American girls – who have been inspired by her example.

That is what 3M is committed to doing as well. We want to do our part to inspire young people, to let them see the incredible power of science. And we are leading by example.

We recently appointed one of our own brilliant scientists, Dr. Jayshree Seth, as our Chief Science Advocate. It’s her job to serve as a role model and spread the message about the importance of science. This is very important and necessary, as our company’s own State of Science study shows that 40% of people don’t think that science has an impact on their lives.

We do many other things to get young people excited about science. We sponsor STEM camps and robotics competitions. Our own scientists and engineers take time to visit classrooms and perform experiments for students. Through these efforts, we reach tens of thousands of kids every year.

3M also sponsors higher education partnerships – including with the University of Minnesota and the United Negro College Fund. These partnerships are focused on expanding opportunities for underrepresented students.

And perhaps our most impactful initiative is our high school internship program, which is targeted to disadvantaged students. This year we’ll welcome 38 juniors and seniors from St. Paul public schools. They’ll spend their summer working in our labs. They’ll receive mentoring from a 3M scientist. They’ll get the opportunity to gain hands-on skills, and insights into science careers. Now, 38 kids may not sound like a lot. But there is tremendous power in helping one person at a time. I am proud that some of the students end up working at 3M, and even become mentors in the same internship that helped them. I am also proud that over the past three years, the science proficiency for African American students grew 10 times faster in Saint Paul than the statewide average.

I will close with a challenge to all of us here today, and to all 3Mers. Take action.

When we think of Dr. King, we often think of the eloquence of his words, and rightfully so. Yet Dr. King was not just a man of great words; he was also a man of great action. Most of our national holidays we celebrate with fireworks, and feasts, and gifts. It’s fitting that the hallmark of this day is community service.

With that in mind, let’s commit to live the legacy of Dr. King every day, not just one day a year. To take action. Mentor someone. Become a Big Brother or a Big Sister, a cause that is near to me. Seek out new perspectives. Experience new cultures. Talk to someone who you may disagree with, or who doesn’t look like you.

Standing here today, I am reminded of some advice I gave recently to a group of graduating university students – advice to help them embrace change and solve the problems we face as a society. The advice was as simple as remember the Golden Rule. Strive to live it every day. If we each did that, what a difference we can make.

Thank you.