Today, the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce announced it is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on a national initiative to address inequality of opportunity.
The N.J. Chamber will join the U.S. Chamber’s national town hall event on June 25, where business and community leaders will discuss concrete actions that can be taken by government and the private sector to address inequality through education, employment, entrepreneurship, and criminal justice reform.
As a partner on this important initiative, the N.J. Chamber will host local and industry dialogues to further the discussion.
“All Americans have a stake in resolving the issues of racial inequality,” said Tom Bracken, president and CEO of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “The business community can make a forceful and positive impact by addressing equal economic opportunity and the New Jersey Chamber is making a commitment to be at the forefront of this effort.
“We are proud that New Jersey Chamber board member John Harmon, president and founder of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, is a national leader of this initiative,” Bracken said. “John serves on the U.S. Chamber’s steering committee for this issue and we look forward to working with John to create a series of local and industry dialogues discussing the tangible actions New Jersey’s business community can take.”
“The moral case for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is indisputable, and there’s overwhelming evidence that greater diversity benefits the American economy, businesses, communities and employees,” said U.S. Chamber President Suzanne Clark. “We are proud to partner with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce on this initiative and help develop a robust plan of action.”
The work of this national initiative will build on the work already undertaken by the N.J. Chamber with its ‘Buy NJ’ initiative, which encourages business leaders, as they review vendor and supplier lists, to support minority-owned, women-owned, veteran-owned and LGBT businesses in New Jersey. It will also build on the work of the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s ‘Jobs for New Jersey’s Graduates’ program, which supports students who are at risk of dropping out of school.
