American Express understands the fight for racial and gender equity across the globe is far from over, so it has announced another plan of action as part of its long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Today, the global financial service company announced that it plans to launch a series of internal and external initiatives and resources supported by a $1 billion investment toward “enhancing diverse representation and equal opportunities for its colleagues, customers and communities,” as reported in a statement.

“American Express has a long-standing commitment to fostering an inclusive and welcoming workplace that reflects the diversity of the customers and communities we serve,” said Stephen J. Squeri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Central to this commitment is standing up against racism and eliminating barriers that have prevented people of all racial, ethnic and gender identities from having equal opportunities to pursue their aspirations. To build on the foundation of work we are doing to drive inclusion, equity and diversity, we are announcing several actions today to advance our progress against our priorities, with clear objectives and goals for which we will hold ourselves accountable.”

To help carry out this next phase of its diversity and inclusion strategy, American Express will rely on the Office of Enterprise Inclusion, Diversity and Business Engagement. It was formed earlier this year to support these programs and measure the company’s progress against its outline objectives.

“American Express is built on relationships based on trust and respect, and by embedding inclusion and diversity into everything we do,” said Robert Childs —  Executive Vice President of the Office of Enterprise Inclusion, Diversity and Business Engagement — in a press statement. “We are committed to mobilizing our collective resources across the company to make an even greater impact for our colleagues, customers and communities. Our goal is to eliminate barriers that have made it more difficult for underrepresented groups to have equal access to economic and social opportunities.”

As part of its plan of action, the company has also outlined several next steps to follow — including:

      • Achieving and Maintaining 100% Pay Equity
      • Enhancing Colleague Representation
      • Double Spend with Diverse Suppliers
      • Expand Access to Capital and Financial Education
      • Evolve Its Product Experiences
      • Marketing and Services
      • Furthering Philanthropic Support
      • Elevating the Next Generation of Leaders
      • Making an Impact through Giving

For more information about American Express’ latest initiative, click here.