A Message from Tony Waller
Stubborn problems that defy solutions for years aren’t solved by well-meaning efforts to do more of the same. Real solutions require real innovation — backed by decisive action, creative partnerships and long-term commitment. This is the approach Walmart is taking to the towering issues of racial equity and social justice in America. And the Constituent Relations team didn’t lack opportunities to put that approach to work in 2021.
This was also the first full year of two major Walmart innovations: creation of the Walmart.Org Center for Racial Equity and the formation of Strategic Value Networks (SVNs) within the company. The center and the SVNs, respectively, are harnessing the power of focused philanthropy and the daily operations of our business to the ambitious goal of eliminating systemic racism.
Our team is aligned with that goal and in 2021 we applied the same spirit of innovation to strengthening our long-time partnerships with America’s diverse communities. We worked closely with these communities to help them benefit from new initiatives from Walmart and to give Walmart the benefit of their thinking on how those initiatives can be improved. And we took unprecedented steps to deal with the continuing challenge of COVID while breaking new ground to encourage shared efforts among communities in partnership with Walmart to pursue common goals.
Our goals are ambitious by design. But they reaffirm our conviction that challenging times should be the catalyst for meaningful innovation.
Tony Waller
Vice President
Constituent Relations and Racial Equity
WNBA Liberty NY BTS Event
To kick off the beginning of the 2021 school year, we partnered with the WNBA, the NY Liberty, and actress Nia Long to ensure children had sufficient supplies and resources for the academic period ahead in an event called Back-to-School. For students attending the pregame event, we handed out backpacks and school supplies in an effort to make sure the local community of children are ready to take on the year ahead. Later in the evening, the Walmart Foundation and Nia Long provided YWCA Brooklyn with a donation of $20,000 to help advance their mission of eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, and dignity for all.
Discover the Science Behind the Art with Intel and Walmart
With the incredible progress science has made over the past years, it’s important for children in all areas to have access to STEM education; that’s why we teamed up with Intel to introduce kids to the latest in drone light show technology. Through a two-day event, over 5,000 viewers were able to learn from some of the diverse engineers, animators, and drone pilots behind Intel’s award-winning performances. We recognize that for many years, the opportunity to be a part of STEM programs has been a privilege. Through programs such as these, we hope that Walmart can continue to provide access for all children to learn about a future where they can be the next leaders in innovation.
Voices+ Instagram Platform
Through our Voices+ events, we wanted to give a platform for BIPOC communities and those passionate about learning and improving the social inequities that exist. Voices+ is a platform that pairs leaders from diverse backgrounds/industries with similar, and not so obvious, commonalities to engage with each other’s audiences through shared topics. Not only does this help build better understanding between communities but it also establishes a space to discuss progress around the identified subject matter. Overall, Voices+ seeks to spark informative conversations across communities and to build bridges of better understanding.
Scholarship for the Returning Citizens
The Empowering A Better Tomorrow Scholarship is available to individuals that exhibit qualities of leadership, commitment to change, a desire to give back to their community, and have been formerly incarcerated or those who recently have completed their sentence. Walmart’s partnership with the NAACP is essential to contributing towards a strong support system for returning citizens and communities to thrive. We hope to distribute 20 scholarships of $5,000 each by the end of Summer 2022 to further the education for those who may have difficulty doing otherwise.
Mid-Autumn
This fall, we turned to chalk art to celebrate and share the traditions and stories of the Mid-Autumn Festival with our customers. We invited two celebrated local Chinese American artists to create beautiful murals inspired by their own memories around the holiday at our Walmart Supercenter in Chino Hills, Calif.
Highlights include coverage in Yahoo!, News Taiwan and prominent multicultural outlets like World Journal, U.S. China Press, and ETTV America. The Mid-Autumn festival is an important way to celebrate the incredible art created by Asian Americans, but by having their work highlighted on various worldwide platforms, it amplifies their work for everyone to recognize and appreciate.
Afghan Listening Sessions
The past year was undoubtedly difficult for Afghans who were forced to leave their home due to the Taliban takeover. While a life in the U.S created a safe space for these individuals, there is still much to process in regard to the events that transpired. Walmart and long time partner APIA Scholars hosted a virtual listening session called “Raising Community Awareness for Afghan Young Adults,” which provided a safe space for Afghan young adults in their 20s (currently in the U.S.) to talk openly about their own journeys as they take steps to resettle in the U.S. The virtual event sustained 97 guests, including public appointed officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Small Business Administration, diverse community groups, refugee support organizations, Walmart corporate employees, and other corporate professionals.
Following the sessions, we facilitated a connection with our panelists and the guests from the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Small Business Administration, who elevated our panelists’ stories to other federal offices for larger impact. We also facilitated a connection with the Asian American Professional Association (AAPA), which agreed to sponsor 5 Afghan refugees to join its Mentorship Program and Workforce Preparation Program. This program will mentor and prepare them for career paths, job applications, and interviews, in hopes to make this transition to a life in America as prosperous as can be.
American Indian College Fund Virtual Concert
Walmart was proud to be a sponsor of the Indige-Bration virtual concert presented by the American Indian College Fund this past October. Indige-Bration celebrated Indigenous voices, history, and culture, and showcased live performances from artists dedicated to amplifying Indigenous perspectives and voices.
Native Youth STEM Event
In honor of National Native American Heritage Month, Walmart had the opportunity to be a sponsor of the Native Youth STEM Event. 63 Native Boys & Girls Club Organizations participated along with nearly 1000 youth in attendance. By encouraging kids to participate in the Native Services MyFuture challenge, 7 Boys and Girls Clubs who completed 100 or more STEM activities on MyFuture were awarded $5,000 each.
Let’s Talk Intersectionality: A Conversation with Emerging Generation Disability Rights Leaders
Last April, Walmart hosted a virtual discussion with Emerging Disability Rights Leaders called “Let’s Talk Intersectionality.” The conversation bought together four young leaders in the disability community who have intersectional identities that shape their experience. The discussion touched on themes of intersectationilty, identity, and strength in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. As we look towards the future of disability rights, we believe it’s important to have these tough conversations to shape how we will apply unique experiences, culture, and identities into the disability narrative to create a more equitable and inclusive environment for all.
Tuesday’s with Liz Interview with Jim Mullen
Walmart partnered with AUCD to share the story of former Chicago police officer, now entrepreneur and founder of Applesauce company Mullen’s applesauce on the Youtube platform Tuesday’s with Liz.
The ARC Partnership for Racial Equity Collaboration
Walmart continued its partnership with The ARC, a non-profit organization whose mission is dedicated to promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes. Working closely with ProInspire, a racial equity organization, they created an online toolkit for 600+ chapters of The Arc and social justice organizations about how to meaningfully collaborate between social justice movements. Over time, the toolkit will continue to grow as we emphasize the importance of cross-movement solidarity.
Emerging Generations
I Stand with Immigrants
In conjunction with I Am An Immigrant, an organization that aims to celebrate an America that is composed of immigrant tradition, we highlighted four of our outstanding associates with immigration stories on their social media platforms. Celebrating the rich history and community of Walmart associates around the country is one way we hope to contribute to the overall wellness immigrant communities. We thank Bianca Sisman, Gabi Caceres, Janise Castillo, and Raj Obaibullah for sharing their stories and allowing Walmart and I Am An Immigrant to amplify them for all to enjoy and celebrate.
OCA: Food for Thought
In partnership with OCA National, Walmart produced “Food for Thought” a 3 part cooking series that was meant to create in. Each episode featured two guests - one provided a recipe for a dish, while the other guided the conversation. The goal was to make more space for inter-generational dialogue within AAPI communities, and allow guests to use this platform to promote health and wellness practices, alongside mental health and self-care within the AAPI community. In episode one, Madelene Mielke, President and CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies, shows writer and Twitter personality Phillipe Thao how to successfully roll a spring (or summer) roll as they discuss their ties to this ubiquitous Southeast Asian dish.
LULAC
After hosting a roundtable to listen to the needs of LatinX young adults, Walmart and the League of United Latin American Citizens collaborated on a financial wellness webinar to provide the community financial literacy tools this past November. The webinar bought together two Latina podcasters, Natalie Torres-Haddad (FinanciallySavyLatina) and Jannese Torres-Rodriguez (YoQuieroDineroPodcast) who shared some introduction to financial wellness tools for the community. The event was also shared on Facebook Live and reached over 225 unique viewers. Walmart hopes through series and events like this, we can provide tools and resources to help young emerging leaders navigate financial wellness for themselves and for their families.
HACR Score
This past year, Walmart’s dedication to constant improvement in regard to inclusivity was recognized by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility for the second straight year. Walmart received a Five-Star rating in three categories on the 2021 HACR CII: Employment, Governance and Procurement. The CII uses qualitative and quantitative measures which help the HACR Research Institute assess current inclusion practices and strategies while identifying areas of improvement, aiming to increase LatinX inclusion and opportunity across HACR’s focus areas of Employment, Governance, Philanthropy and Procurement.
"Delivering on our purpose of saving people money so they can live better means finding new and innovative ways to accurately represent the customers and communities we serve, and fostering inclusive spaces that are respectful of the associates who share those identities and backgrounds." — Ben Hasan, Chief Culture, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Hispanic STEM Workshop
Over the Summer, Walmart was proud to help support the Hispanic Heritage Foundation with a CSL (Code as a Second Language) Virtual Camp. By opening up opportunities for underrepresented students to explore computer science and STEM fields, we hope this will inspire the next generation to innovate and create while advancing towards a more diverse workforce in the field of technology.
Latina Style Live Better U Article
Last August, we announced that we will pay 100% of college tuition and books for our associates through our Live Better U (LBU) education program. The announcement and program details were covered in a November issue of Latina Style Magazine, as Christine Bolaños writes, “Walmart continues to prioritize the advancement of people of color, Latinos included. In a recent Lumina study of Walmart’s LBU program, 18 percent of hourly associates at Walmart are of Latino origin. Comparatively, 16 percent of LBU participants identify as Latino,”. We are incredibly grateful for Latina Style highlighting this program that we believe will advance the success for all our associates.
CEI Index
The Corporate Equality Index rates workplaces on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer equality, and for 2021, Walmart was one of 14 in the Top 20 ranked Fortune 100 businesses to receive a 100% rating. Walmart was also one of 12 companies to have the distinction of earning top scores on all three of HRC’s Corporate Equality measures: the Corporate Equality Index, Equidad MX and Equidad CL. Inclusion for those in the LGBTQ+ community is a standard Walmart commits itself to, and plans to continue living up to this standard.
+Victory Institute
Walmart is a supporter of the Victory Institute’s Victory Congressional Internship. This program develops the next generation of LGBTQ+ public leaders. Each semester, the Victory Congressional Internship brings outstanding LGBTQ+ undergraduate students to Washington, DC, for an intensive leadership program, including:
This is an 8 or 10 week Congressional internship with a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus or an LGBTQ-friendly member of U.S. Congress to learn firsthand about the federal legislative process; and an educational and leadership development program to learn about careers in policy-making and engage with subject-matter experts in the District of Columbia working across sectors.
Power Women Virtual Panel Series
To celebrate Women’s History Month, we created a two-part virtual panel series that convened diverse executive women leaders in communications to discuss what must and can be done to advance diverse women in the PR industry. The discussions shed light on the current state of workplace equity (both in the U.S. and abroad) through real experiences of diverse women. This series was hosted in partnership with five key partners - Museum of Public Relations, the Public Relations Society of America, Worldcom Public Relations Group, International Women’s Forum, and the National Millennial and Gen Z Community.
The series, titled “Power Women: The Rise of Diverse International Women and Power Women: The Rise of Diverse Women in the U.S.,” convened diverse executive women leaders in communications to share their thoughts on what should and can be done to advance diverse women in the PR industry. The discussions shed light on the current state of workplace equity (both in the U.S. and abroad) through real experiences of diverse women.
The events were livestreamed on the Museum of PR’s Facebook page, and live-streamed to colleges and universities. More than 650 RSVPs for the U.S. program and 250 for the international program, brought visibility to 21,000 Public Relations Society of America members, 10,000 Museum of PR members, and 5,000 Worldcom PR Group members.
Multicultural Women's Cohort – Unleash The sHERO in You!
The Walmart.org Center for Racial Equity’s partnership with the Center of Asian Pacific American Women (CAPAW) led to the creation of “Unleash the sHERO in You,” a pilot leadership development program for multicultural women. The inaugural cohort comprised a group of 25 Asian American, Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic/Latinx, and Native American women in years 1-5 of their professional careers.
The program’s goal is to increase the self-confidence of young multicultural women in the workforce to enable them to speak up and advocate for themselves; and, as a cohort, to build allyship and speak out against racism to become stronger together. The year-long program includes bi-weekly leadership development workshops, focused on a diverse range of topics with prominent speakers from various industries (including Mr. Tony Waller).
HBCU COVID Vaccination Events
Last fall, we partnered with 5 HBCUs to create on-campus vaccination events that provided easy access to vaccines in communities that had lower vaccination rates. Throughout these events, over 100 people got their vaccines, along with more than 50 COVID tests administered.
Students, faculty, and staff were also able to receive flu shots and screenings during this time. The commitment from South Carolina State, Alcorn State, University of DC, Central State University, and Jackson State to team up with Walmart and fight the pandemic allowed for these communities to have additional protection from COVID-19.
COVID-19 AAPI Communications Campaign
To help promote Covid-19 vaccine distribution efforts, Walmart partnered with trusted Walmart Health & Wellness professionals to create a virtual toolkit of four digital resources that directly addressed the primary concerns of underserved AAPI communities located in regions where Walmart was offering vaccinations. The resources included:
- COVID-19 Vaccine Information Flyer
- “8 Things You Should Know About the Vaccine” Graphics Carousel
- “How To Book Your Vaccine Appointment Online at Walmart.com” Instructional Video ft. Dr. Anthony Chung
- “My Vaccination Experience” Testimonial Video ft. Dr. Chinni Pulluru.
On March 25, 2021, Walmart hosted an event convening 14 partner AAPI organizations, 15 national/regional AAPI leaders, and 2 Walmart Health & Wellness professionals (Dr. Anthony Chung and Dr. Sam Meraj) to discuss how COVID-19 and the vaccines continue to affect our diverse communities
The discussion also led to a successful Walmart mobile vaccination clinic activation in Denver, CO. with the Asian Pacific Development Council (APDC), one of the 14 partner organizations that participated in the learning and listening session.
- Walmart Health & Wellness successfully vaccinated 95 members of the community in the 2-part event (Jun. 4 - first dose; Jun. 25; second dose).
Hispanic Federation Vaccination Project
In an effort to continue slowing the spread of COVID-19, the Hispanic Federation, with Walmart’s support, opened five pop-up vaccination spots in the United States for those in the Hispanic community that needed access to vaccines. Nearly 2,700 people were able to receive the vaccine, with almost 450 of those being administered by Walmart clinicians. We value the commitment these communities have for keeping themselves and those around them safe.
Hope for All Campaign
Walmart partnered with Unidos to help launch the Esperanza Hope for All Mobile Educational Tour as part of our on-the-ground effort to bring COVID-19 vaccine information directly into Hispanic neighborhoods, including rural and urban communities where health resources are lacking or difficult to access. The program also included 235 events in high Latino-traffic locations throughout the country, including many Walmart stores, ultimately engaging over 31,000 Latinos promoting awareness on reliable COVID-19 vaccine resources, building trust, and directing families to vaccination sites.