SAN FRANCISCO — As protests for racial justice continue around the United States, companies, including HP, are looking to take bolder actions to fight racism. Last Friday, I spoke to HP's chief diversity officer Lesley Slaton Brown and chief brand & communications officer Karen Kahn about the role brands — and agencies — can play in supporting racial justice and addressing systemic racism. The conversation was hosted by PRSA Silicon Valley.

The conversation covers a span of issues, including: how town halls and other listening efforts can be turned into action, how action can be taken by everyone within an organization (rather than falling on employees of color) — and ultimately, how companies can build scalable and sustainable movements from this moment.



Conversation Highlights:

  • "When we talk about diversity and belonging, especially in the corporate environment — it's about how do you elevate the talents of people of color, women, the LGBT community and so on. This is different, this is a pivotal moment in which we have to look at: how do we treat people? What rights do people have? The social justice, the racial equality." —Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer 

  • "Not being a racist simply isn't enough. We all have a role to play in everything that we do. We all have a personal responsibility to educate ourselves and we can't look to the black community to show us the way or tell us what they need or encourage us to have dialogues." — Karen Kahn, HP's chief brand & communications officer 

  • "It's time to listen, to move from the moment to a movement that allows mobility to scale and sustain over time. That's really the conversation starter that we had. And the value of some of the town halls and sessions we had was about that sustainability over time." — Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer 

  • "The best way to hold brands accountable is through purchasing decisions. And stop buying from brands that are doing the wrong thing and not treating their employees well." —  Karen Kahn, HP's chief brand & communications officer 

  • "HP never has approached our D&I work as an initiative. It's fundamentally embedded into our business strategy. It shows up in the form of business priorities, it shows up in the form of performance metrics, it shows up in the form of a sustainability framework that focuses on planet, people and community." — Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer 

  • "Don't mistake good communication for action. There is a really big difference. Writing well on behalf of our companies and executives is very different from corporate policies, procedures and actions on behalf of our brands." — Karen Kahn, HP's chief brand & communications officer 

  • "The benefit of any civil movement has been, you're pushing for one group and others benefit as well. That's what I see from our conversation right now. The sustainable and scalable piece goes global." — Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer 

  • "As we approach this work, we really have to allow some space for — and I don't want to say bold and glaring missteps — but the opportunity for people to flex in a different way because right now we're uncomfortable. As black Americans, we're uncomfortable having to share our fear, our hurt, our anger, our frustration. And as white Americans, you might be fearful about misstepping or not knowing what to say. So, we're frozen and you're frozen — and we can't both be frozen." — Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer 

  • "We can't be afraid. We're going to make mistakes, we're going to do it wrong. We're in a situation of trauma with the black community and it will require uncomfortable conversations." — Karen Kahn, HP's chief brand & communications officer 

  • "Hold people to standards. It's one thing to say you're giving one company X amount of dollars. But how are you measuring what the company does with those dollars? And the impact that will ultimately have." — Lesley Slaton Brown, HP's chief diversity officer