We know that diverse teams perform better – period. Providing equitable experiences for all our people results in higher engagement, increased business performance and more opportunities for all. We will continue to elevate and celebrate underrepresented communities, while combating intolerance in all forms, both inside and outside of our workplaces. Some highlights from 2022 include:
Shared data externally for the first time related to our 2025 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategy, underpinning our commitment to a transparent, data-driven approach to meeting our goals related to female representation and US Black, Latino and Asian headcount, and a culture of inclusion.
Formally scaled a global recruiting process for non-frontline roles by using labor market data to build diverse candidate slates for recruitment.
Created a safe forum for conversations and storytelling around bias, discrimination and inclusion at a personal level by launching our Listen & Learn sessions. These sessions, regularly hosted by senior leaders, focused on personal experiences and perspectives to shed light on other views and develop solutions to common concerns.
Expanded our Employee Assistance Program to include all global employees, ensuring access to a variety of tools and resources to manage the many facets of wellness. A variety of financial wellness tools and resources were offered to provide employees with information on budgeting, debt management and more.
Earned a score of 100 on the 2022 DISABILITY EQUALITY INDEX®, highlighting the culture, leadership, enterprise-wide access, employment practices, community engagement and supplier diversity practices in place to support disability inclusion.
Launched a new leadership competency model to connect our behaviors to our values, providing clarity and consistency for what great leadership looks like at PPG. This model establishes the standard for how we hire, develop, recognize and promote leaders at every level of our organization.
Our eight ERNs have grown to more than 7,550 members and are active in more than 60 countries. Through 2022, there were more than 22,000 participants in more than 30 ERN-sponsored events.
For the first time, an ERN event was held at a manufacturing location, bringing together our Black and Latino Employee Networks to celebrate cultures and provide networking opportunities.
Received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality.
Our efforts are focused on education, employee engagement and community sustainability, three areas that represent an intersection of our business strengths and our ability to create positive impacts across our communities.
Within education, we seek to build the next generation of diverse and innovative leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics ("STEM"). Our community sustainability investments deliver community transformations through colorful spaces, support essential needs (particularly in times of disaster), and provide opportunities to thrive in service of social justice. We activate the time and talent of our employees to make a difference in our local communities.
Throughout all of our community engagement activities, we integrate and uphold our values of diversity, equity and inclusion. Together with our community partners, employees and investments, we work to create pathways and impacts that address systemic racism and advance social justice.
Our global giving totaled more than $16.2 million in 2022, supporting hundreds of community organizations. To ensure this investment had the greatest impact, we focused our resources on the areas that we are best positioned to support – education, community sustainability and employee engagement.
We supported students at various points of their education continuum, advancing opportunities for STEM learning through engaging, hands-on programming for young students and via vehicles for higher learning such as scholarship and workforce development programs for advanced STEM studies. One such program is the pioneering Girls in Tech initiative in Sumaré, Brazil. PPG Brazil partnered with non-profit organization Casa Hacker to inspire women to work in technical fields and to offer training in technology-related subjects such as electronics, computer programming, robotics and 3D printing.
PPG and the PPG Foundation reached 70% progress toward our commitment to invest $20 million by 2025 to address systemic racism and advance racial equity in the U.S. by funding educational pathways for Black communities and people of color. The commitment strengthens PPG's focus on education and furthers its support of STEM education. In 2022, we continued our support of programs that spark an early interest in exploration and discovery and encourage curiosity in the possibilities of STEM studies; help students see the connections between STEM ideas and real-life innovations and careers; and support diverse students entering advanced, post-secondary STEM studies.
Our COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® program represents a 10-year, $10 million commitment, bringing together PPG volunteers, local nonprofits, government organizations, PPG products and financial support to provide a fresh coat of paint, rejuvenated energy and sense of pride to community and educational spaces in need of a refresh.
In 2022, the Colorful Communities program established the New Paint for a New Start initiative to combine revitalization projects with an impact on education. The campaign engaged employee volunteers to makeover schools across PPG's global communities in July and August 2022, and provide brighter spaces and new beginnings to students. Through New Paint for a New Start, 1,000+ employee volunteers across 16 countries participated in re-painting classrooms in need in their local communities, transforming 36 schools and investing $1 million and 3,400 gallons of paint to impact 23,000+ students and teachers.
When natural disasters strike or communities face unforeseen hardships, we establish and support community rebuilding programs. In 2022, PPG committed to humanitarian relief and longer-term recovery support to aid Ukrainian refugees. In addition to funding relief organizations that addressed immediate, essential needs, PPG provided educational opportunities to refugee children and supported our employees in their volunteer efforts and financial contributions.
We are committed to doing even more in the cities and neighborhoods that we call home. We will engage with our communities, our customers and our employees, to listen, learn and take action. As a global company, PPG can make a difference. Our purpose states that "we protect and beautify the world," and we live this by supporting the next generation of leaders and our neighbors in need.