5 Biggest News Stories of the Week: August 11

As the saying goes, the news never stops — but there’s a lot of it out there, and all of it doesn’t always pertain to our readers. In this weekly news roundup, we’ll cover the top news stories that matter most to our diversity focused audience.

1. Eli Lilly Plans to Grow Outside of Home State Over Indiana Abortion Restrictions

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly (No. 5 on Fair360, formerly DiversityInc’s 2022 Top 50 Companies for Diversity list) said it plans to employ more people outside of its home state of Indiana after the state became the first in the U.S. last week to pass new legislation restricting access to abortions since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June.

Lilly is one of the largest employers in Indiana, employing approximately 10,000 people in the state. The company said in a statement that it views abortion as a “divisive and deeply personal issue with no clear consensus among the citizens of Indiana.”

“Despite this lack of agreement, Indiana has opted to quickly adopt one of the most restrictive anti-abortion laws in the United States,” the company said. “We are concerned that this law will hinder Lilly’s — and Indiana’s — ability to attract diverse scientific, engineering and business talent from around the world. Given this new law, we will be forced to plan for more employment growth outside our home state.”

2. Diversity Training Launched at Sesame Place Following Lawsuit

Sesame Place amusement park in Pennsylvania has launched diversity training for its employees after viral videos and a lawsuit alleged characters ignored Black children.

The park announced that a “comprehensive racial equity assessment, anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to DE&I program” would be conducted by experts recognized around the U.S.

“Sesame Place today announced a series of initiatives as part of an expansion of its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the amusement park said in a statement. “Initiatives include a comprehensive racial equity assessment, the development and implementation of an anti-bias training and education program, and enhancements to ensure a best-in-class diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program. This work will be overseen by national experts.”

Employees are expected to participate in the training and education program by September 2022.

3. CDO Series: Humana’s Carolyn Tandy

In the first installment of a series on Chief Diversity Officers who have moved companies, Fair360, formerly DiversityInc spoke with Carolyn Tandy, Chief Inclusion and Diversity Officer at Humana (No. 9 on Fair360, formerly DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list).

Tandy joined Humana a year ago after leaving Texas Roadhouse. Read through the Q&A to find out how a mentor led Tandy to her job at Humana, what she was proud to have accomplished while and Texas Roadhouse and more.

4. Riot Games Releases Results of Third-Annual D&I Progress Report

For the third year in a row, Riot Games shared the results of its Diversity & Inclusion Progress Report publicly to track its “journey to become a more diverse and inclusive company,” the company said in the report.

This year’s report showed that Riot Games made progress in the representation of women at the company and now has women comprising 25% of its leadership council.

The report also shows that the company does not have significant differences in pay for women and underrepresented minorities.

“We continue to make strides in creating inclusive experiences for Rioters, with our internal Inclusion Index now at 85%,” the report said.

5. NBA Diversity Study Shows Gains in Hiring Women and Minorities

A diversity study from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida shows the NBA posted gains in the hiring of minorities and women after seeing a small dip last year.

TIDES gave the NBA an A grade overall, with an A-plus for racial hiring and a B-plus for gender hiring. The report examines hiring in league leadership and with franchises.

Lead report author Richard Lapchick of the University of Central Florida said it’s notable that the NBA got back to a higher level of hiring women and minorities. He said the NBA’s grade was down last year because of a “methodology change to include team ownership,” according to the NBA’s website.

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