Accelerating social impact
At EY US, we use our knowledge, networks and influence to address some of the world’s toughest challenges. We leverage our platform to create long-term value for our stakeholders and accelerate social and economic transformation. Whether enabling entrepreneurs to transcend barriers and achieve growth, supporting the next generation workforce, or taking actions to eradicate racism and discrimination, we are committed to being catalysts for economic equity and lasting social impact.
EY helps bring South City online
When community leaders cut the ribbon at the South City Tech Hub in September 2021, an under-resourced community in Tallahassee, Florida, gained better access to the digital world. It also enabled EY US to activate our commitment to help bridge the digital divide as part of our anti‑racism work.
Elevating diverse entrepreneurs
EY US has been associated with dynamic entrepreneurs worldwide for nearly four decades. Our advocacy of entrepreneurs spans a global network delivering business insight and guidance, public policy and continued celebration of their contributions to world economies.
Through marquee programs — Entrepreneur Of The Year®, EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ and Entrepreneurs Access Network — we honor entrepreneurial ingenuity and engage the ecosystems that fuel their success.
Many entrepreneurs struggle to succeed, even without the added uncertainty that comes from a global pandemic or factors tied to gender, race, ethnicity, culture or ability. Entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups often face additional obstacles and challenges gaining access to funding, opportunities and support. EY US leverages its strength as a convener and brings together entrepreneurs with investors, clients and experts to spur sustainable growth that benefits everyone in market. Fostering more inclusion and equity in entrepreneurship is a powerful stimulus that creates more jobs, accelerates innovation and, ultimately, improves our economy.
EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women
For 13 years, the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program has helped women‑led businesses thrive by equipping rising female entrepreneurs with the guidance, resources and access they need to unlock their potential. The program has helped participants achieve breakthrough goals, take new approaches to business leadership and enhance operations. The 2021 class of US and Canadian women‑founded companies cut across industries, spanning consumer products to FinTech to health care. Companies ranged in size from $2 million to nearly $80 million in annual revenue, with over half funded by venture capital, private equity, angel investors or a combination of all three.
By having a level playing field, everyone has a fair and equal chance of succeeding. Equity won’t be accomplished through treating everyone equally but will be achieved by treating everyone equitably according to their needs. Having access to resources, a rich network, and know-how means we know that there’s always support to help us to get where we want to be.
Entrepreneurs Access Network
Employing more than 8.7 million workers and generating more than 50% of all new businesses, diverse‑owned enterprises make a significant contribution to the US economy that all too often goes overlooked. With an inaugural cohort that includes entrepreneurs in 16 markets across the US, the Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN) supports Black and Latinx‑owned companies in scaling their businesses via a 12‑month immersive mentoring and business accelerator program. EAN is committed to equalizing access to resources, connections, and capital to help these emerging majority enterprises reach their full potential and address the wealth gap disparity in underserved communities.
By leveraging the firm’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, EAN has surpassed program ambitions in its first year. Successes include assisting the launch of a new electric vehicle business model, helping a founder close $2.5 million in seed funding, convening a series of mentorship roundtables featuring C‑suite executives, and helping several entrepreneurs to be featured across various media outlets, articles and commercials.
EAN by the numbers
The Entrepreneurs Access Network has been invaluable. My EY mentor facilitated connections with venture capital firms and has even helped me launch a brand-new electric vehicle business. Although I’ve been a CEO for nearly 20 years, this program gave me the opportunity to work on my business, not just in it — with results.
Taking action through anti-racism initiatives
Driven by our core values and commitment to building a better working world for all, we’ve taken meaningful and sustained action against systemic racism.
Bridging the Digital Divide
EY US is committed to helping underserved populations by providing devices, broadband and mentorship through our Bridging the Digital Divide initiative. By forming and leading powerful multi‑sector collaborations and joining existing local collaborations throughout the US, we help provide the access and digital skills needed for our local communities to thrive in a digital world.
EY Social Justice Fund
Supporting organizations that are working to create the just and equitable world we envision, is a key pillar of our firm’s commitment to anti‑racism. We launched the EY Social Justice Fund as a platform where our EY people can recommend national social justice organizations or contribute to funding organizations focused on addressing inequity, discrimination or racism in the areas of education, technology, health care, the environment or economic empowerment. The fund builds on our anti‑racism commitments and our existing and long‑standing corporate responsibility efforts by creating a proactive process and a longer‑term strategy for philanthropic giving that aims to address the root causes of social injustice.
Over 80 EY US offices effected impactful change for their communities through our Bridging the Digital Divide initiative
Quiana Dawson
(she/her/hers)
Senior Manager, Ernst & Young LLP,
Social Impact Lead, Americas ESG & Sustainability; Fellow, CEO Action for Racial Equity
As I reflect on the past 12 months, I feel a sense of pride, gratitude and power because I had the opportunity to delve into data and research that was disturbing but authentic, meet with community advocacy groups that are passionate and doing the work, probe business coalitions on their mission and press for a racial equity focus, and work alongside some of the most intelligent and passionate professionals across a multitude of industries. I am so appreciative of the firm for making this investment in me and taking a stand to be anti-racist.
Driving policy change
Engaging in public policy matters is critical to driving sustainable change. That is why EY US includes public policy objectives as part of the firm’s broader anti‑racism efforts, using our platforms and joining with others to advocate in Washington, as well as leading actions for change in our communities.
For example, EY US has long supported a legislative solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients (also called Dreamers) via a Supreme Court amicus brief and other sustained advocacy efforts. In 2021, we signed a series of letters to the US president and congressional leadership, encouraging legislative action and emphasizing the need for a legislative solution in light of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruling on the DACA program. EY US was also an early supporter and continues to advocate for passage of the Equality Act, leveraging professional networks and associations in Washington to create a bigger impact. The Equality Act would provide federal nondiscrimination protections on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace and elsewhere.
Additionally, we’ve established an internal EY Anti‑racism Public Policy Working Group — a vehicle for knowledge sharing and providing strategic input on key proactive public policy initiatives — and expanded DEI representation on the EY US Political Action Committee Board.
Day of Understanding
As a signatory to CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion™, EY US participated in the February 2021 Day of Understanding. Throughout the month, we encouraged EY professionals to have meaningful conversations with colleagues different from themselves, to deepen their understanding of others’ unique lived experiences. In 2021, we also joined CEO Action for Racial Equity, a fellowship developed to advance racial equity through public policy. As a fellow of the program, EY employee Quiana Dawson, undertook a yearlong secondment alongside 200 other fellows who worked together to identify, develop and promote scalable and sustainable public policies and corporate engagement to address systemic racism and social injustice. EY US also sits on the Fellowship’s Governing Committee.
Speaking up and taking action to combat anti‑Asian racism
EY US created our anti‑racism commitments in 2020 in response to racist violence that brought into sharp focus the long history of racial injustice toward Black people in our country. Our efforts at combating discrimination and racism also extend beyond the Black community.
Throughout 2021, we witnessed an increase in anti‑Asian racism and violence, which further spurred our actions. We listened to our Pan‑Asian professionals through our Pan Asian Professional Network, who shared their experiences enduring racism, feeling silenced, fearing for their safety and that of their families, and more. All of our Professional Networks rallied together to host “Understanding and responding to hate crimes,” a webcast that sought to respond to the many overt, violent acts impacting numerous communities. With many of our EY colleagues’ or clients’ physical and emotional well‑being affected, the event focused on providing information and tools to support team members, leaders and family members.
Externally, we teamed with Ascend, the largest nonprofit career life cycle organization for Pan‑Asian business professionals and executives in North America, to become the lead founding partner of the Ascend Impact Fund. The Fund was launched to help raise awareness of the history and prevalence of anti‑Asian racism through expanding advocacy, allyship, education, and community engagement to create sustainable change.
We want to be a part of the solution through actions that match our words both internally and in our communities, and we pledge to use our platforms to be stewards of change.
Supporting the next generation
We support young and underserved people to develop the mindsets and skills they’ll need to find and sustain meaningful work.
College MAP
EY College MAP (Mentoring for Access and Persistence) is a multiyear, group‑mentoring program dedicated to giving underserved youth in the US access to higher education. EY College MAP matches EY volunteer mentors of all levels, backgrounds and service lines with 11th and 12th graders from underserved urban schools in 38 US cities. Following their graduation from high school, these students continue to work with mentors to persist in completing their post‑secondary goals. To date, 1,800+ EY College MAP volunteers have mentored 2,000+ underserved students and provided $4.9 million in scholarships.
Erika Patterson
(she/her/hers)
EY Americas Corporate
Responsibility Director
I passionately believe that a strong corporate responsibility strategy strengthens our communities and our business. Making a positive impact on lives is central to our EY ambition.
College MAP helped me achieve things that I didn’t think were possible for me. The program impacted my life in a great way and changed the lives of many other students in my cohort.
Strategic collaborations
EY US works closely with many third‑party collaborators (TPCs) whose missions align with our EY Ripples corporate responsibility strategy. Through these collaborations, we contribute resources and our people’s time and talent to help solve challenges in the communities in which we serve. TPCs also provide EY US with important subject matter expertise on topics such as youth mentoring, environmental justice, and impact entrepreneurship. Below are some examples of our teaming with TPCs to create change:
| By contributing our skills, knowledge, and resources to impact entrepreneurs in the Americas, EY US created a ripple effect impacting over 7 million people in FY21. | Through organizations like Junior Achievement and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, EY US impacted over 6,900 underserved young people in the Americas in FY21 on our journey to impact 1 billion lives by 2030. | In FY21, Earthwatch and other organizations mobilized thousands of EY people to combat climate change and environmental injustice in the Americas. |
| In collaboration with United Way, EY people raised over $8.7 million in 2021 for causes they support. | Over 700 EY people participated in a webcast moderated by EY Chief Medical Officer Dr. Yele Aluko, who spoke about health equity and air pollution. | EY leaders contributed their time and experience by serving on over 1,000 nonprofit boards. |
Marna Ricker
(she/her/hers)
Junior Achievement USA Board Member
and EY Americas Vice Chair of Tax
EY US has always believed that if we want to have a stake in the future, we must support and foster the next generation of entrepreneurs in the present.
Investing in our communities
Through EY Ripples, our global corporate responsibility (CR) program, our goal is to positively impact 1 billion lives in our communities by 2030.
EY Connect Day
On EY Connect Days, EY people are encouraged to put our values into practice in the wider world by volunteering in the communities where we live and work. Each volunteer initiative aligns with focus areas of EY Ripples: supporting the next generation, working with impact entrepreneurs and accelerating environmental sustainability. Skills‑based volunteering allows our people to use their knowledge, skills and experience to engage in high‑impact initiatives yielding long‑term results.
In 2021 we reimagined EY Connect Day to offer more opportunities for our people to volunteer together as teams, more ways to fit volunteering into busy schedules, and more ways to learn and be inspired by EY Ripples.
Additionally, EY US supports a range of impactful employee volunteer programs and EY‑sponsored anti‑racism activities.
Accolades and awards
Over the course of our DEI journey, some incredible organizations have recognized our work. We were honored to be inducted into DiversityInc’s Top 50 Hall of Fame in 2018 and have maintained this status ever since. We have achieved a 100% rating on the Corporate Equality Index and the Disability Equality Index, which reflects on our work in the LGBT+ and disability inclusion space. In 2021, EY US ranked on numerous Seramount “Best Companies” lists, including Multicultural Women, 100 Best, 100 Best for Dads, Executive Women, and the Inclusion Index. See other EY awards.
Conclusion
The inclusive culture we’re building at EY US values diverse perspectives, creates equitable opportunities and enables transformation across our ecosystem of people, clients and communities. We also recognize that more work lies ahead if we want to move further faster on increasing representation, equity and building an environment that is truly inclusive for every person. Although meaningful change will take time, programs and initiatives like those described in this report help drive the engagement, accountability and transparency needed to achieve our long-term DEI goals. EY US professionals, including firm leadership, are committed to continue building on the firm’s DEI successes, learning from our setbacks and doubling down on our opportunities. Thank you for joining us on this journey.
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