OPERATION HOPE LAUNCHES CORPORATE INCLUSION INITIATIVE TO ADVANCE BOARD-LEVEL OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINORITY EXECUTIVES

The initiative was launched as part of a "Third Reconstruction" Proposed by Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant

ATLANTA, July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Operation HOPE today announced the formal launch of The Corporate Inclusion Initiative, which aims to level the representational playing field of corporate America by placing well-qualified minority candidates on company boards of directors, ensuring that the boardrooms reflect the ethnic and gender makeup of the country.

Originally announced as part of a "Third Reconstruction" in the Milken Institute Review, the initiative was designed to develop a roster of highly qualified candidates that could be recommended or placed in executive leadership roles for which they were highly-suited. The initiative now boasts a confidential roster of nearly 50 candidates representing a broad spectrum of executive experience and backgrounds.

According to the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, as of 2022, only 22.2% of Fortune 500 corporate board seats were held by individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. While this is up from 17.5% in 2020, this percentage lags well behind the demographic makeup of the United States.

By recommending and placing well-qualified candidates from underrepresented ethnic and racial backgrounds on boards of directors, we ensure that the most influential companies and their decision-making are reflective and aware of our country's diversity – when all voices have a seat at the table, everyone benefits.

How it works:

• High-profile members of the Operation HOPE network and community recommend candidates from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds.
   
• After rigorous vetting by the Corporate Inclusion team and review by leadership, the candidates are added to the program.
   
• When necessary or beneficial, candidates are given executive coaching and direction on improving their suitability for board service.
   
• As placement opportunities become available, candidates are recommended for roles in which they are both prepared and well-suited.
   
• Corporate Inclusion serves as a catalyst for placement and an objective advisor to both the candidates and the placement organization, facilitating and assisting as needed.

About Operation HOPE, Inc.
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $4.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Operation HOPE Contacts:

Kevin Boucher, Operation HOPE
[email protected]

Lalohni Campbell, Per/Se Media Group
[email protected]
404-593-7145

SOURCE Operation HOPE, Inc.