A Message From Our CEO: McCormick’s Commitment to Standing up for Black Lives

Over the course of the last couple of weeks I have been reflecting on the events that transpired in Minneapolis with the killing of George Floyd, the protests around the globe and our own internal discussions with colleagues. All these events have shed light on the systemic levels of racism in the U.S. and around the world, and on the pain resulting from the deaths of so many people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Rayshard Brooks and others.

I believe our company has a responsibility to live up to the Power of People principle, which is foundational to our history and culture and has made us a great company and place to work. It saddens me to see the pain and suffering being experienced by the Black Community, including Black employees here at McCormick. It is important for all in leadership to stand with our colleagues in condemning racism and violence of any kind, and we must continue to work together to break down the structural barriers that exist in all levels of society because Black Lives Matter.

I am committed to taking action at McCormick. Our Global Diversity & Inclusion Day on June 2nd sparked as series of listening sessions and conversations with employees throughout our company. My hope is that these discussions continue and will lead to transformational changes that further strengthen our diversity and inclusion efforts at McCormick, ensuring that we remove any barriers that prevent our Black employees and others from feeling valued for their skills and talents.  

One of the best ways to move forward together and begin the healing process is to stand together to support our Black employees while making a difference in the communities where we live and work. 

In addition to signing the Ascend Compact with 100+ other companies to address racial bias making recent charitable donations and honoring the commitments we have made in the Diversity & Inclusion space, McCormick will:

• Make an additional $500,000 donation to organizations nominated by employees to combat racial injustice and/or provide critical food, healthcare or other essential services to Black Communities impacted by police brutality.
• Affirm our publicly stated diversity goals of 30% for ethnically diverse talent in the U.S. and renew leadership accountability to these goals. This means undertaking a comprehensive review of our talent pipeline and turnover statistics to better take advantage of opportunities to attract and develop ethnically diverse talent and understand attrition.
• Renew our commitment to require Talent Acquisitionand hiring managers to have ethnically diverse slates for all positions posted internally and externally, and ensure we hold leaders accountable throughout the organization.
• Accelerate Unconscious Bias awareness training and other diversity and inclusion programs for leaders and employees across the entire organization.
• Evaluate our existing learning and development programs for ethnically diverse talent in the U.S. to ensure equal access to include sponsorship and mentoring initiatives.
• Prioritize investments in Diversity & Inclusion initiatives to ensure we have the optimal level of funding and resources to aide in the attraction of ethnically diverse talent, including strengthening our relationships with Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) and investments in new ethnically diverse talent pipelines in the communities we serve.
• Formally establish an advisory committee of senior Black leaders, who are current members of our Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, to work with our head of Diversity & Inclusion to identify other opportunities for us to better support our Black employees.
• Annually update our diverse Corporate Board of Directors on our diversity & inclusion goals and progress related to the commitments made here.
• Continue to empower our Global Diversity & Inclusion Council, Social Issues Committee and Employee Ambassador Groups to bring forward specific recommendations that uncover and address systemic issues within our organization.
• Increase awareness of existing company resources that provide McCormick employees with the opportunity to raise questions and concerns related to harassment and workplace bullying through our Business Ethics Hotline.

As CEO of this great company, I understand that there is more to be done and that McCormick has a responsibility to lead this work. I know it won’t be easy. I know it won’t be fast. I know it won’t always be comfortable. I am committing to work as hard as it takes and for as long as it takes, to drive meaningful results. I embrace this challenge as I stand together with senior leadership and McCormick colleagues around the world for our commitment to diversity and inclusion and against racial injustice.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Kurzius
Chairman, President & CEO of McCormick & Company