How corporate America is approaching Juneteenth, the newest national holiday

Due to the holiday being added to the federal calendar so close to the date, the stock market remained open on Friday, but the number of companies acknowledging Juneteenth is growing as corporate America seeks ways to deliver on diversity and inclusion pledges — although some question whether they’re truly fulfilling the spirit of those commitments.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, associate dean at the Yale School of Management and CEO of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, said a growing number of companies are embracing the holiday.

A survey of employees at big and medium-sized companies by software company Benevity found that while workers noticed companies making statements or pledges in support of racial diversity, the impression is that relatively few have followed through: Only about one in four noticed their employer dedicating company resources to address issues around diversity and racism, and roughly the same number said their company had donated money in support of these goals.

A recent employee survey found that 19 percent had experienced racial or ethnic discrimination within the past five years, and 14 percent said they had experienced it within the past year.

According to an SHRM survey of more than 1,000 HR professionals conducted earlier this year, more than one in four said that the biggest challenge they faced in 2021 was meeting the goals they had set around diversity, equity and inclusion.

More than one in three, though, said getting greater traction towards their diversity, equity, and inclusion goals was the aspect about which they are most optimistic in 2021.

Benevity’s survey found that 37 percent of employees said they would be likely to quit if their company failed to prioritize addressing social and racial injustice.

Paul Argenti, a professor of corporate communication at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, said making the day a national holiday could give companies more motivation to observe the holiday.

Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey said last year that both companies would observe the day as a company holiday.

Representatives of Best Buy, Starbucks, Allstate, Target, Nike, Lyft, and Zillow all said their respective companies are each in their second year of recognizing Juneteenth as a company holiday.