4 Brands with Amazing Diversity Initiatives to Get Inspired By

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Brands play an important role in transforming the world by educating with the right messages.

But how are brands positioning themselves in terms of diversity, inclusion and accessibility?

Let's look at real examples of brands that are incorporating these the advantages of line database thoughts with responsibility and action.

Diversity in education - Ânima Plurais
Ânima Educação , a leading private educational organization in Brazil that has diversity in its DNA, has opened spaces for years to provide psychopedagogical support and talk about inclusion in the country.

In 2020, they created Ânima Plurais, a series of programs for Afro-descendant teachers, recruiting and selecting talent from underrepresented groups. In these first years, they focused on racial equity, but they go beyond that.

For Luiz Carneiro, Diversity and Inclusion Analyst at Ânima Educação, one of the main principles of Ânima is to change society through education and this transformation permeates positive representations of diversity.


“We are social beings and we need diversity to be valued and respected more and more. We continue to witness cases of discrimination that attack the right to exist. We are committed to diversity and Ânima seeks to establish a healthy, respectful and welcoming environment for the community,” says Carneiro.

Its teacher training program has already impacted 350 educators and the acceleration program for black teachers has already reached 100 people. In addition, thousands of students participated in its discussion forums, promoting diversity in their institutions.

Inclusion for all - iFood
iFood , the leader in food delivery in Latin America, has an affinity group for conversations with the LGBTQAIP+ community and actions such as educational campaigns, livestreams and webinars. It also offers great benefits such as psychological and legal support, transgenitalization and mastectomy surgeries covered by the health plan and support for medical expenses.

They have strong initiatives for the Afro-descendant community. In November 2021, they launched an inclusion program with the goal of hiring 300 Afro-descendant professionals for positions in different areas of the company by June 2022. The initiative is part of a public commitment that iFood signed in 2021 to help repair historical debts and reduce social inequality.

iFood is aligned with the company's goal of having 40% Afro-descendants among its employees and 30% in leadership roles by 2023.

And that's not all. In October 2021, they launched Potência Tech, an initiative to fulfill their public commitments, which consist of training and employing 25,000 low-income people and underrepresented profiles, such as women and people of African descent, in the technology field.

The commitment is to train 5 million people for work and entrepreneurship and impact 5 million students and teachers in the public school system with training in the areas of science, mathematics and technology by 2025.

According to Bruna Nascimento, Senior Communications Analyst at iFood, companies must actively work to mitigate society's historical problems. “When we talk about inclusion, we mean not wanting to leave anyone behind and we understand the need to correct historical debts. It is also the role of companies to give access to those who in the past did not have fair opportunities,” she says.

Let people talk
An easy way to boost diversity within the workplace is to get people talking about it. Affinity groups, events and meetups can be used to encourage discussion about diversity and accessibility issues, as well as to enable HR to lead the creation of diversity policies (more on this on page XX).

Edelman, one of the largest PR firms in the world, began creating affinity groups , according to an interview with the Society for Human Resource Management. They started small, but over the past four years they have expanded the number of these groups.

The company has groups for women, LGBTQAIP+ and African Americans, Hispanics, AAPIs and veterans. They plan to launch new groups this year, one for special needs and another for religious tolerance, according to Trisch Smith, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Edelman.

“ These groups have been instrumental during the pandemic, in times of social unrest, and in the fight for racial justice. They have also been critical in bringing difficult and courageous guidelines to everything that is happening, and in healing these moments by providing a safe space ,” Smith says.

Another company that is driving the discussion is Horizon Media. According to Eileen Benwitt , Executive Vice President and Chief Talent Officer, they held their first ever DEI-focused town hall meeting, called Belonging Agency.

This was a continuation of the actions of 2020, when they created forums and open spaces for people to share their own experiences and reactions.

“ The value of what we shared at the Belonging Agency meeting elevates the importance of DEI and gets people thinking about what they want to do and where they’re leaning ,” Benwitt told the Better Workplaces, Better World blog.