As one of the largest organizations globally, American Express has carved an employer brand as strong as its name in the financial world. Sonia Cargan, Senior Vice President, Chief Colleague Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Talent Officer at American Express, talks exclusively to The HR Digest about how people-focused strategies have been the key to the giant’s success.
The HR Digest: What initiatives are you most proud of at American Express?
Sonia Cargan: At American Express, we are proud of our long history of building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture that embraces differences and reflects the values we hold true. We are committed to creating a more sustainable and equitable future where all people have the opportunities and resources to reach their full potential. In 2020, we announced a $1 billion Action Plan to advance diversity, equity and inclusion for our colleagues, customers and communities. The plan includes a series of internal and external initiatives, commitments and resources, toward enhancing diverse representation and equal opportunities for our colleagues, customers and communities.
In 2021, we published the company’s inaugural Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report, which highlights the company’s progress on our DE&I commitments and initiatives as part of our $1 Billion DE&I Action Plan.
In 2020, we achieved 100% pay equity for colleagues across genders globally and across races and ethnicities in the United States. We are committed to continuing to achieve pay equity going forward.
Launched Self-Identification (Self-ID), a voluntary effort designed to give colleagues the opportunity to share their diversity data with the company, including their gender identity and sexual orientation. The initiative aims to inform diversity, career and learning strategies and strengthen our inclusive culture so that everyone feels invited to bring their whole selves to work and has rolled-out in major office locations globally.
Enhancing recruitment process to attract the highest quality talent and deliver the best candidate experience while reducing inherent bias. To help us develop diverse slates of candidates, we’ve forged or strengthened partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, organizations such as the Thurgood Marshall Fund and the United Negro College Fund, and skills-based programs such as YearUp, Multiverse, YUPro and more.
We also formed a new Office of Enterprise Inclusion, Diversity and Business Engagement, led by my long-time colleague Robert Childs, to expand our inclusion and diversity work–in close partnership with our executive committee. To drive meaningful, long-term change in our culture and the way we operate, we knew we needed to have clear objectives for the enterprise with timelines and metrics to ensure we were driving progress and impact. The company has two senior leaders focused on delivering on our inclusion and diversity strategy.
From your perspective, what are the most immediate opportunities for companies around cultivating a culture where diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into its fabric, both internally and externally?
Creating a more sustainable and equitable future for all is a transformational journey—one of continuous learning, growth, and progress. We have to be committed to our journey with open ears and eyes to learn and enhance as we go.
DE&I needs to be clearly mapped with the company’s culture and vision and be driven through the lens of the company’s strategy. To drive changes successfully DE&I needs to be everyone’s responsibility across the company and companies can act on three strategies to enable their efforts.
- Create a holistic strategy. Words are powerful and actions are important, but when these are part of a holistic strategy, that’s when meaningful and sustainable impact really happens. At American Express, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) efforts are a fundamental part of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy, which takes a holistic view of the many ways the company responsibly backs our key stakeholders. The mission driving our ESG strategy is to back people and businesses to thrive and create equitable, resilient, and sustainable communities globally. DE&I is one of our three core pillars of our ESG strategy.
- Be transparent and seek feedback. Through transparency, we hold ourselves accountable and not only stand by our words but put them into action. Last spring, we published our full US workforce EEO-1 data in our DE&I Progress Report. Additionally, in our effort to enhance our disclosures and provide greater transparency we also disclosed recruitment, retention, and hiring data in our ESG and inaugural DE&I reports published last fall. Each year, we conduct an annual Colleague Experience Survey to better understand colleagues’ perspectives and needs. Our Board of Directors and senior management review the results and action plans. Feedback from our colleagues suggests that they feel valued and agree that we have their backs.
- Hold yourselves accountable. Our Board plays a key role in guiding our annual company scorecard, which we use to measure our performance on business priorities. This scorecard includes a colleague component with goals related to diversity, talent, and culture, making up 15% of the scorecard. We reflect this strategic focus in our recruitment, hiring and promotion practices across the company to attract, develop and retain the best talent and enhance diverse representation among our colleagues.
“Creating a more sustainable and equitable future for all is a transformational journey—one of continuous learning, growth, and progress. We have to be committed to our journey with open ears and eyes to learn and enhance as we go.”
What experiences, people, or philosophies have most influenced the way you view and practice diversity, and why?
Early in my career, I was told by a senior leader, “If you are in a room and you have been invited to participate, it is your responsibility to use your voice.” These words have served me well throughout my career journey and have unlocked many opportunities—even more so now in my role where I have to speak up and advocate for others.
The current state of the world has demonstrated to all of us the critical need for empowered voices to be a driver for change. I show up each day, take my lived experiences and perspectives with me, and use them to share knowledge and shift conversations.
My experiences and broad perspectives make me unique, whether it’s me as a woman, a person of color, a parent, or a global citizen—my voice is my superpower. Individually, each experience has taught me something different, but collectively they’ve shaped me into the person I am today.
Do you have any initiatives or areas you plan to focus on in the coming years?
I am excited about the progress we’ve made but understand we have more to do. I look forward to focusing on our culture and our colleagues, particularly as we move forward with Amex Flex, our new model of working that combines the benefits of both virtual and in-person experiences.
For our culture, that means becoming a company where explicit consideration of equity is integrated in everything we do to embody true inclusion and;
For our colleagues—creating a culture that respects, values, and recognizes everyone by removing barriers to achieve inclusion and advancement.
“Words are powerful and actions are important, but when these are part of a holistic strategy, that’s when meaningful and sustainable impact really happens.”
Last year, we brought together our DE&I, Global Talent Management and Leadership & Learning functions all under my leadership. We believe this move will enable us to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion more deeply into our culture and the way we operate, particularly as the landscape for talent becomes increasingly more competitive. This move reinforces our commitment to our colleagues and how we think about the colleague experience in a strategic way, from recruitment, to onboarding and professional development.
I am committed to delivering on our $1 billion Action Plan and the ongoing integration of DEI into our workforce practices and ensuring that American Express is a company where all colleagues feel seen, heard and like they truly belong.