From Economic Reciprocity Initiative to Opportunity and Diversity Report Card

WHEREAS, in 1997, the NAACP adopted the Economic Reciprocity Initiative (ERI) Resolution and, based on the initiative, private corporations within five major industries (automotive, telecommunication, financial services, general merchandising, and hotel/lodging industry) were surveyed to measure the reciprocal relationship between corporations and businesses and the African­ American community and each of the participating companies received ERI letter responses to questions on a survey covering five key areas: (1) Employment, (2) Marketing/Communications Expenditures, (3) Supplier Diversity, (4) Charitable Giving/Philanthropic Activity; and (5) Community Reinvestment, as it relates to the inclusion of African Americans; and

WHEREAS, from 1997 to 2008, the NAACP continued to provide consumer choice guides and report cards on the five major industries; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP has now revised its focus to measure performance, racial diversity and fairness in major industries such as the energy, health care, automotive, telecommunication, financial services, general merchandising, and hotel/lodging industries that are the fastest growing by occupation, revenue growth and have the greatest potential to influence job creation and advancement (at multiple job classification levels) and wealth building (as measured by ownership, development, contracting, and supplier diversity) in African American communities and other communities of color; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP will also conduct industry sector analyses of workforce trends using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Census, and the US Economic Census (including the American Community Survey) and each industry's unique combination of occupations, production techniques, inputs and outputs, and business characteristics is important to the NAACP because it determines working conditions, educational requirements, and the job outlook for each of the industries; and

WHEREAS, the reports cards will now include employment workforce by level and function for the following categories: new jobs, existing positions, promotions, retired, employment terminations, and layoffs and corporations will be asked to report on their ownership and inclusive business engagement practices, specifically, contracting and procurement opportunities including professional services, construction, and goods and services as it relates to minority businesses; and

WHEREAS, corporations will be evaluated against their own merits using a scale (based upon performance) focusing on three main issue areas: Hiring and Job Advancement, Contracting and Procurement, and Ownership, where applicable and corporations that have excelled in a particular area and have implemented a research-based "best practice" will be profiled and/or granted a special mention in the report and for corporations in which an opportunity to improve has been identified, the report will highlight a set of recommendations for improvement and provide a list of technical assistance providers that can work with that corporation to improve survey performance; and

WHEREAS, the NAACP Opportunity and Diversity Report Card: The Hotel and Resort Industry is the first report card based on the new methodology and was released in 2012.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP will continue to focus on specific industries with job creation, advancement, wealth building and ownership issues for African Americans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will partner with industry leaders to advance best practices for racial and ethnic inclusion and diversity and promote diversity and inclusion in various U.S. economic sectors.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP Economic Department will work with local units and state conferences to advance diversity and inclusive practices in the aforementioned industries and will provide toolkits and other resources for local advocacy concerning corporate diversity and inclusion.