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PEOPLE
Delta’s Commitment to Racial Equity
Black external candidates now represent 22.2% of our new hires for General Manager, Director and Managing Director roles, up from 15.6% in 2020
Black external candidates now represent 22.2% of our new hires for General Manager, Director and Managing Director roles, up from 15.6% in 2020
82.0% of non-executive positions filled by external hires in 2022 did not require a college degree
82.0% of non-executive positions filled by external hires in 2022 did not require a college degree
Goal: Reimagine Our Talent Strategy
Goal: Reimagine Our Talent Strategy
Increase the number of qualified hires who are part of underrepresented racial and ethnic groups
The percentage of diverse hires should mirror the diversity of the qualified candidate pool
Numerous factors contributed to our early and mid-career diverse talent growth, particularly among frontline leaders, including strengthening diversity metrics, capabilities and transparency, introducing a Skills-First talent approach, having more diverse hiring panels and creating apprenticeship opportunities. Highlights from these initiatives include:
Our DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Council evolved into a two-tiered Council and DEI Executive Committee – resulting in greater cross-divisional accountability focused on accelerating Manager-level (Grade 10) Black talent
Our multi-faceted retention and career growth plans for top internal Black talent resulted in increased intentionality in retaining senior Black talent
Our targeted recruitment strategies for external Black talent led to an uptick in Black applicants
We enforced a diverse hiring panel and slate requirements for internal and external candidates
Hiring managers received developing additional bias mitigation tips through a new “Passport to Lead” training program
Engaged historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in our recruitment efforts through developing partnerships with organizations like the United Negro College Fund.
Goal: Rebuild Delta to Reflect the World We Serve
Goal: Rebuild Delta to Reflect the World We Serve
Closing diversity gaps in senior leadership positions by increasing the representation of women, Black and other underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in those roles, including doubling the representative percentage of Black officers and director-level employees by 2025 as compared to 2020
We are progressing in closing representation gaps at many levels across our organization. The most progress is taking place in Women talent.
2022 saw an increased representation of women, Black talent and other underrepresented racial and ethnic groups in many roles across the company. This is an important step toward increasing diversity at senior levels (VP+)
We established the Senior Executive and Executive Talent Councils to focus on diversity gap closures – resulting in a “create-don’t-wait” model yielding 30 GM+ promotions of high-potential Black internal talent
Percentage of officers from each racial/ethnic denomination.1 As of December 2022 based on self-identification:
Percentage of officers from each racial/ethnic denomination.1
As of December 2022 based on self-identification:
1 Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Faces of Travel
Delta and Adobe teamed up with creative company Kin and photographer Seo Ju Park to create Faces of Travel, a 100-image library that reflects a more inclusive – and accurate – view of diverse travelers out in the world enjoying travel in extraordinary ways. Faces of Travel aims to champion a more accurate and authentic representation of travelers to inspire positive, lasting change within the travel industry and beyond. The Faces of Travel library is available for the public via Adobe Stock at no cost for social media, advertising and other content creators.
Goal: Create More Equitable Opportunities
Goal: Create More Equitable Opportunities
Introduction of a new equity-focused component of community engagement activities
Allocate annual charitable contributions and giving toward equity-focused organizations and initiatives
We have forged and expanded partnerships with equity-focused partners, including:
- 100 Black Men of America
- 100 Black Men of Atlanta/Emerging 100
- Atlanta Business League - Super Tuesday Conference
- Atlanta Global Research & Education Collaborative (AGREC)
- City of Refuge
- Clark Atlanta - Jazz Under the Stars/Spirit of Greatness Gala
- Clayton County Public Schools
- Elizabeth State University
- FIVE
- FlikShop
- Georgia School Counselor Association
- Goalsetter
- Hampton University
- John Lewis Case Comp/Emory
- NAACP
- National Black MBA Association
- National Center for Civil and Human Rights
- National Society of Black Engineers
- National Urban League
- Next Gen Men & Women
- OneTen
- Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP)
- RBIJ/Unlock Potential
- Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
- The Atl Airport Chamber
- UNCF
- Urban League of Greater Atlanta
“Our concentrated efforts are building a strong pipeline as we work toward our long-term goals.
The deliberate steps we’ve taken, like introducing a Skills-First hiring approach, reinforcing the importance of diverse hiring panels and creating apprenticeship opportunities, are components that continue delivering results. We know that the path to a more equitable business is a journey, but years later, these results are showing we are moving in the right direction.”
- Keyra Lynn Johnson, VP and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Goal: Promoting Understanding and Inclusion
Goal: Promoting Understanding and Inclusion
Continuing education on justice, equality and equity
Our officers and other senior leaders completed a Racial Equity Workshop to gain further understanding of systemic issues and inequities and means of disrupting them
Our DEI-focused managers now report to the Global Office of DEI, increasing divisional connection to corporate strategy and DEI engagement
We promoted dialogue and understanding through our “Let’s Talk About It” and “Gaining Altitude” series
Our internally curated and researched Perspective Paper library aided in knowledge building and DEI conversation acumen
We partnered with Equal Justice Initiative to increase DEI education, strengthening DEI strategy alignment across our team
We are utilizing technology via a commitment with IBM to identify unconscious bias in our advertising
Goal: Step Up Inclusion Training
Goal: Step Up Inclusion Training
At least one of four enhanced inclusion training courses completed by all employees by 2022
We launched our enhanced inclusion training experience, which explores conscious and unconscious bias, learning how these biases impact behaviors and understanding the way our actions impact others: 42,000+ employees completed at least one of four DEI trainings
We committed to ensuring that all officers participate in a two-day Racial Equity Leadership Workshop