The CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance diversity and inclusion in the workplace, was signed by Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner.
By signing the commitment, Gardner is pledging to cultivate diverse perspectives and experiences at Amtrak.
“We recognize that we can’t move this needle alone. As we look to improve diversity and inclusion initiatives, it truly takes a village,” Gardner said. “As we continually make changes to move communities and the country forward, we are proud to be a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.”
All signatories of this commitment are company leaders who agree to implement the pledge within their respective workplaces and support companies doing the same. Amtrak brought this commitment to life by continuing efforts to implement and sustain four key actions:
- Supporting an open dialogue on complex and sometimes difficult conversations about diversity and inclusion: Encouraging an ongoing dialogue and tolerating different values builds trust, encourages compassion and reinforces a commitment to foster inclusivity.
- Expanding awareness of unconscious biases: Recognizing one’s own unconscious bias which enables individuals to begin acknowledging and minimizing potential blind spots.
- Sharing best practices and unsuccessful actions: A commitment to help other companies evolve, enhance their diversity strategies and encourage them to share their successes and challenges with us and other companies.
- Establishing accountability: Create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with the board of directors that enable concrete and strategic action to prioritize and drive accountability that cultivates an inclusive culture and talent.
Reflecting continued efforts to advance diversity and inclusion, Amtrak received the highest score possible on the 2022 Disability Equality Index (DEI®) and received a top score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) earlier this year. Amtrak also has eight Employee Resource Groups that aim to foster connections and create a sense of belonging for employees at Amtrak.
At Amtrak, employees, programs and suppliers represent a diverse work environment. Providing employees with unique growth and development opportunities, Amtrak says it aims to empower employees to reach their potential. This includes a comprehensive diversity and inclusion strategy for recruitment, onboarding, engagement and promotions.
