Pharmacy chain CVS tells managers to ‘prioritize diverse talent’ & write personalized plans to fight biases – media

CVS Health, which operates a large chain of pharmacies and convenience stores across the US, lectured its workers about privileges, and told managers to focus on hiring “diverse talent,” a report says. 

Fox Business said it has obtained audio of an online training call for CVS Health staff.

At one point, employees were instructed to fill out a “personal commitment plan” outlying specific steps to mitigate bias and “practice conscious inclusion” in the next five days, five weeks and five months, the channel reported.

The channel published what it said was a slide from a CVS presentation, where senior directors were told to “source diverse talent” and “prioritize promoting diverse talent” within the company. “Constantly celebrate diversity, inclusion and equity. Be brave and take swift action if our values are compromised,” the slide said.

According to Fox Business, staffers at the pharmacy chain were also lectured about understanding their privileges and identities, as well as “intersectional identities of others.”

CVS did not respond to the channel’s request for a comment on the audio. The company announced last year it would be spending nearly $600 million on initiatives aimed at addressing the “inequality faced by black people and other disenfranchised communities.”

Major US corporations have been adopting anti-racist workshops and training seminars in the wake of a larger discussion on race, racism and its implications in the media, academia and online.

Earlier this year, the Coca-Cola Company faced criticism for allegedly telling its white employees to “try to be less white,” according to the slides supposedly leaked by a whistleblower. The soft drink giant told the media at the time that the slides in question were not part of its training.

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