This week, as many people begin buying their holiday wrapping supplies, we began thinking — what would the season be without 3M’s ubiquitous Scotch tape? And where would the world be in general, without this industrial powerhouse?
Since its humble beginnings at the turn of the 20th century, 3M has been granted more than 125,000 patents – covering everything from masking tape, Post-it Notes and abrasive cleaning pads – to breakthrough inventions you may not be aware of, like glass bubbles that can be injected into materials to reduce their weight, reflective sneakers, and smog-reducing roofing shingles.
To bring its products to life, 3M relies on more than 95,000 workers in 70 countries, 40 percent of which are based in the U.S. How diverse is this workforce, and what goals has it set to better reflect the diversity of its customers, suppliers, and communities? A review of 3M’s recent EEO-1 reports, company reported data, and SEC filings uncovered the following:
- In the U.S., 3M wants to double the number of Black and Hispanic employees (entry level through management) and managers. Specifically, 3M is targeting 16.2 percent Black and Hispanic representation in the employee category, and 11.2 percent for managers; both of which are double the 2020 figures the company reported.
- Globally, 3M is nearing the tail end of a ten-year plan to double the number of diverse managers at the company. While 3M has made real progress in adding diverse managers across the globe – going from 32.6 percent to 44.5 percent today – it readily admits that it won’t achieve this goal by 2025. But rather than backing down, the company now intends to deliver on the intention by 2030.
- Most recently, 3M reported that women executives made up nearly one-third of its 296-member U.S. senior leadership team. The company reports a similar number of women at the company’s management level in the U.S., as well as 100 percent gender pay equity across all global regions. On this note, last year 3M was added to State Street Global Advisors’ Gender Diversity Index ETF, which tracks large cap companies in the U.S. with high gender diversity in the board room and senior leadership positions.
- Beginning this year, 3M is adding an ESG modifier to the company’s bonus structure for senior executives. Top executives, including named executive officers, can have their incentives increased or decreased by ten percent, or left unchanged based on the compensation and talent committee’s assessment of 3M’s ESG performance.
- Since 2016, 3M has doubled the number of diverse directors on its board. Key to this are two recent additions – global payments executive Suzan Kereere, who heads global business solutions at Fiserv and joined the board this year, and global economist and advisor Dr. Dambisa F. Moyo, who was elected in 2018. With these additions, the company’s 11-member board now has six diverse directors, including one LGBTQ+ director (Dow CEO Jim Fitterling).
- This year, 3M’s chief diversity officer, Ann Anaya, left for the CDO position at AmerisourceBergen, and former 3M human resources executive Marina Pariseau rejoined the company as CDO. A St. Paul native, Marina reports to the company’s chief equity officer, James Momon, in charting the company’s DEI strategy and objectives.