— Ruth Umoh, Forbes
This past year ushered in a series of changes in corporate America, most notably for diversity heads. What started as innocuously as any other year soon spiraled into a global pandemic, a shift to remote work and sweeping civil unrest. The summer’s widespread protests forced corporations and small businesses alike to denounce discrimination and systemic racism and pledge to address and redress pressing equity issues. “I don’t think we’ve seen a stance from organizations to the extent that we have seen this year, and they have been bold, they have been public, and they have been actionable,” says Girish Ganesan, global head of diversity and inclusion at TD Bank Group, who helped select the winners of our inaugural Forbes Diversity & Inclusion Awards.