Reference no: EM133862042

Question

Keene Strategic Partners, Inc. implemented its DEI program in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder in 2020, recognizing that it had a role to play in helping bring about change. A $400 million company, Keene was founded by Jake M. Rubinicoff in the 1920s and has remained a family-run firm. In 2010, Mark Rubinicoff took over the helm from his uncle, Jake's son. Prior to 2020, Keene had not placed much emphasis on DEI, preferring to let employees seeking work come to the organization, and promoting largely from within. The firm's 1,100 employees are diverse in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and a few have visible disabilities. Nearly 74% of the employees are non-Hispanic White, and about 8% are Hispanic, 6% each African American and Asian, and the remainder are Native American or multi-racial. There is also considerable age diversity, with employees in their late sixties to recent college graduates in their early twenties, the latter of whom appear to have more interest in DEI. After Floyd's murder, the company held Town Halls in which some Black employees shared some of their experiences with police racial profiling, giving "the talk" to their children, and being constantly on.