Photo Credit: frimages, Getty Images
Northstar Travel Group has signed on as a member of CEO Act!on for Diversity and Inclusion, the largest CEO-driven business commitment to advance equality in the workplace. In signing the pledge, Northstar -- parent company of Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings and Meeting News -- joins more than 850 member organizations in a pledge to practice and promote the highest standards of equality and ethical practices in the global marketplace. The initiative, launched by PricewaterhouseCoopers in June 2017, establishes and promotes the highest standards of equality, opportunity and ethical business practices.
Signatories must commit to the four pillars of the pledge:
- We will continue to make our workplaces trusting places to have complex, and sometimes difficult, conversations about diversity and inclusion.
- We will implement and expand unconscious bias education.
- We will share best -- and unsuccessful -- practices.
- We will create and share strategic inclusion and diversity plans with our board of directors.
Fostering an Inclusive Travel Industry
Northstar Travel Group, with chairman and CEO Thomas Kemp as its signatory, is one of only 15 travel-related organizations to have joined CEO Act!on. "We are thrilled to be one of the leading travel-industry companies committed to expanding inclusion and diversity in our workplace and industry," said Kemp. Northstar is pleased to join these other leading companies and executives in the travel industry:
- Alaska Air Group, Brad Tilden
- American Airlines, Doug Parker
- Carnival Corp. & plc, Arnold Donald
- Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian
- Expedia Group, Mark Okerstrom
- Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, John Lawn
- Hilton Worldwide, Christopher J. Nassetta
- Hyatt Hotels Corp., Mark Hoplamazian
- Marriott International, Arne Sorenson
- Park Hotels & Resorts, Thomas J. Baltimore, Jr.
- Playa Hotels and Resorts, Bruce D. Wardinski
- United Airlines, Oscar Munoz
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Geoff Ballotti
- Wynn Resorts, Matt Maddox
Setting the Tone for Kinder Corporate Missions
The mission of CEO Act!on supports a broad shift in how corporate missions are defined in America. This past August, the Business Roundtable issued a statement on “the purpose of a corporation,” determining that companies should not primarily serve only the interests of shareholders, but must invest in their employees, protect the environment and deal fairly and ethically with suppliers.
“This new statement better reflects the way corporations can and should operate today,” stated Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson and chair of the Business Roundtable Corporate Governance Committee. “It affirms the essential role corporations can play in improving our society when CEOs are truly committed to meeting the needs of all stakeholders.”
The Business Roundtable, founded in 1972, is an association of CEOs from America’s leading companies, whose mission is to promote a thriving U.S. economy through sound public policy.
The Future Workforce is Heterogeneous
By 2050, there will be no racial or ethnic majority in the United States, as traditionally under-represented groups become the majority, according to research by the Center for American Progress. In fact, the U.S. population will be "minority white" in 2045, according to an analysis of U.S. Census figures by the Brookings Institution. By that year, white/non-Hispanic Americans will comprise 49.7 percent of the population, along with a projected 24.6 percent Hispanic, 13.1 percent African Americans, 7.9 percent Asian and 3.8 percent multiracial Americans.
Northstar Travel Group is the parent company of Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings and many other leading brands serving the travel and meetings marketplace, including leisure and retail, business travel, sports travel, incentives and travel technology. A growing international business, Northstar’s mission is to connect buyers and sellers of global travel and hospitality products through comprehensive and current content, deep data products, empowering technology, marketing services, and educational events and conferences.