Sponsor Spotlight: Truist

In our Sponsor Spotlight series, CBI highlights our relationships with our sponsors, and the work they are doing to build a more equitable and just community within their own spheres of influence. Today’s Sponsor Spotlight focuses on Truist, and is written from their own perspective.

Truist has always been committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion —but recent events have caused us to become even bolder in our stance. Like millions of our fellow citizens, we have taken an introspective look at where the country is today and where we, as Truist, need to go. We have challenged ourselves to listen, learn, and take action. We will work diligently to help bridge our nation’s gap in economic inequality, to ensure our company reflects the diversity of the communities we serve, and to invest in organizations aligned with our aspirations for equity. You’ll find that commitment reinforced in every aspect of our business. It is communicated in our mission statement, strategic plans, and the words and actions of our leaders. It is reflected in the organizations with which we partner and the diversity of our teams.

There is absolutely no place for hate or discrimination of any kind at Truist. We welcome everyone. We are a company that knows we are far better together than we could ever be apart. We firmly believe that everyone who enters through our doors should be treated with equity, dignity, and respect, and that no one should ever live in fear because of who they are.

Starting at the top, our Chairman and CEO Kelly S. King signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™ pledge which rallies the business community to advance diversity and inclusion within the workplace by working collectively across organizations and sectors. He also publicly and passionately condemned the injustice of systemic racism and committed to advancing equity, economic empowerment, and education inside and outside Truist.

Additionally, Truist joined the hundreds of companies that support the Business Coalition for the Equality Act, standing for equal rights for all and pledging never to discriminate because of sexual orientation in any of our businesses or hiring practices. Most recently, we also signed The Hispanic Promise, making a national pledge to hire, promote, retain, and celebrate Hispanics in the workplace.

Our executive management team works to ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion across our company through the talent we hire, the partnerships we make, the educational institutions we sponsor, our philanthropy and volunteerism, and the products and services we deliver. All leaders are trained on our comprehensive antidiscrimination policies and policies to advance equity and inclusion. They also receive unconscious bias training to help them uncover and address their own personal biases.

To deliver on our diversity commitments, Truist has a dedicated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Office, specifically focused on increasing diverse representation at key levels of the bank and ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into all our business strategies and hiring. The DEI Office partners with groups across Truist to develop tools, resources, and programs to recruit, retain, develop, sponsor, and promote diverse talent. We are especially focused on advancing women and increasing racially and ethnically diverse talent in leadership roles. Additionally, our diversity-recruiting strategies and partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities help us attract top diverse talent.

To engage teammates and help celebrate diversity and cultural awareness, we have eight business resource groups (BRGs) that provide business insights, help educate our company, and create a sense of belonging. Our BRGs serve military veterans and their families, African Americans, Asian/ Pacific Americans, people of different abilities, teammates from different generations, Hispanics/Latinos, LGBTQ+ individuals, and women. Approximately 10,000 teammates are involved in one or more groups.

BRGs coordinate their activities in recognition of teammates who may affiliate with more than one group. They partner to sponsor panels, discussions, and events to bring people together, as we firmly believe we are better together. Most notably, we sponsored hundreds of listening sessions throughout Truist—what we call Days of Understanding. We brought BRGs, teammates, and leaders together to discuss challenging and uncomfortable topics, like the racial injustices that have occurred for centuries and the systemic racism that people of color face daily. These were candid and open conversations, opening many eyes to the realities many of our teammates face. Listening to our teammates’ personal experiences has caused us to accelerate our diversity, equity, and inclusion actions to ensure their voices are always heard and valued—and they don’t experience inequities inside our walls.

Learn more at truist.com/DEI.