1 year, $3.8 billion later: How 2020’s racial reckoning shook up Big Tech

In June 2020, people across the country protested the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others. Business leaders responded to the moment with public declarations of their intention to do better at attracting and retaining Black employees. To mark the first anniversary of this moment, Fast Company is proud to partner with The Plug, a subscription news and insights platform covering the Black innovation economy, to bring you a look at the impact these declarations and financial commitments actually had.

We reached out to 42 of the largest and most influential U.S.-based technology companies and surveyed them on how much money they’ve committed and their internal equity and inclusion practices. We also spoke with Black scholars, activists, and technologists, about their hopes and fears for what will happen to DEI work now that the national spotlight has shifted—and the extraordinary amount of work that remains to make Big Tech equitable for Black workers. Check out the full package here, including our deep dive into the data.

Note: For the best experience, we recommend viewing this link on a larger screen.

—Katharine Schwab and Julia Herbst

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During his press conference before the opening game of the 2020 European Championships, Cristiano Ronaldo took two strategically-placed bottles of Coke from in front of his microphone, and moved them off to the side--and just off camera--before grabbing his unmarked bottle of water and said, "Agua."

Coca-Cola's share price dropped almost immediately by 1.6%, or about $4 billion. The global corporation is an official sponsor of the tournament, widely considered the world's third-most watched sporting event after the Olympics and the World Cup.

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1 year, $3.8 billion later: How 2020’s racial reckoning shook up Big Tech

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