This week, the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ) and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the second annual DE&I (diversity, equity, and inclusion) Trailblazer Awards reception.

The event, held Nov. 20 at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge, honored six New Jersey businesses that are leading the way in demonstrating tangible and measurable progress in DE&I.

The honorees excelled in key areas including access to capital, board diversity, corporate citizenship, supplier diversity, workforce diversity and emerging influence in the DE&I space.

The awardees were:

• Corporate Citizenship: Johnson & Johnson – which gave more than $12 million in matching employee donations and cash grants over the last three years to New Jersey organizations, with $4.1 million last year going to nonprofits that address DE&I.
• Access to Capital: Santander US – which offers a free executive leadership training program designed to help small- and medium-sized business owners with a focus on minority-, women-, veteran-, and immigrant-owned businesses; the program helps small business entrepreneurs gain access to executive education, networking opportunities, and debt and equity capital.
• Supplier Diversity: Hackensack Meridian Health – which created an Executive Diversity Council co-chaired by the CEO and chief diversity officer, establishing a supplier diversity-driven goal tied to executive compensation that has resulted in an increase in annual supplier diversity spend by 32% in 2023 to $69.3 million.
• Board Diversity: Modivcare – which boasts a diverse board of directors including an African American member, an Asian Indian member, two female members, and one director whose gender is non-identified.
• Workforce Diversity: Phillips 66 – Bayway – which last year hired 36% women globally and 42% of U.S. hires from underrepresented groups, while also supporting academic training grants and education opportunities for young women and minorities working in the fields of STEM.
• Emerging DE&I Influencer: New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) – which last year hired its inaugural chief diversity officer and launched the Office of Inclusive Excellence; this fall, underrepresented groups made up a record 50% of the first-year class, including a record 30% enrollment of women.

The winners were selected from a strong field of nominees that the two organizations compiled over the last few months – representing a wide range of business sizes and industries.

“These are the companies and organizations that don’t just support DE&I, they are setting measurable equity and inclusion goals and meeting them,” said John Harmon, founder, president, and CEO of the AACCNJ. “They are making a difference. We applaud these trailblazers and encourage their counterparts in the business community to work toward similar measurable goals.”

“We are honoring companies that are walking the walk,” said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “We are recognizing and celebrating the DE&I champions who are meeting the challenge and challenging the status quo.”

DEI in the Workplace

A panel of experts convened by NJBIZ delved into issues surrounding the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and offered advice for how people, organizations and businesses can get started or improve their DEI efforts. Click here to read more.