ESG in Action

CDW’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs) have always been a critical connection for our coworkers and play an important role in promoting an inclusive culture. Created by and for coworkers, our eight North American and four location-specific groups provide professional development, informal mentoring and networking opportunities to members. They also provide a forum for coworkers to make their voices heard, build awareness, celebrate their affinity area, collaborate with other BRGs and provide business perspective on diversity and inclusion initiatives.

More than 32 percent of our North American coworkers participate in at least one BRG, helping to cultivate a culture of belonging across teams and locations. Similar efforts to create that sense of community among coworkers exist in our U.K. operations. All of the BRGs are active internally and externally, including using social media to highlight their efforts and attract additional support. 

Our BRGs typically combine to host more than 100 programs annually. Except early in the year, in-person events were very limited in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WON remains one of our most active groups, helping to connect women and their mentors and allies across the company. The group is also focused on mentoring and educational outreach to young women and girls to inspire them to pursue STEM education and careers in technology and engineering.

In 2020, WON, in partnership with our another BRG, Black Excellence Unlimited (BeU), hosted “The Only One in the Room,” a three-part virtual panel series exploring the reality and challenges of often being the “only one in the room” when key discussions and decisions are happening. This series focused on helping underrepresented coworkers better engage with their peers and navigate barriers. Throughout 2020, our BRGs took turns on a monthly basis highlighting their efforts and enhancing engagement across the organization: 

• For Black History Month in February, BeU organized a series of educational sessions and conversations.
• May is Military Appreciation Month, so MARC created R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Fridays for all coworkers to wear red. 
• In June, BRAVE led the celebration of Pride Month to focus on dignity, equality and increased visibility of LGBTQ+ coworkers and community members. 
• In mid-September to mid-October, ¡HOLA! led the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month with a sweep of informative virtual events, fun activities and valuable resources to learn more about the Latino community and how everyone can be effective allies. 
• In October, ABLE marked National Disability Employment Awareness Month by partnering with Disability:IN to host a webinar about Recruiting, Hiring & Accommodating Neurodiverse Workers.