SPONSORED CONTENT
EXECUTIVES FOR
SY IC CHANGE
CECP is stimulating action that will mitigate
a tech talent shortage while fostering a
diverse workforce with 21st-century skills.
THE WORLD FACES A MAJOR TALENT
vacuum in STEM (science, technology,
engineering, and math) expertise. In
fact, a 2018 study by consulting fi rm
Korn Ferry found that by 2030, there
will be a global shortfall of 4.3 million
workers in the technology sector. And
because tech-related industries currently
comprise about one-third of the world’s
gross domestic product, an economic
crisis looms if nothing is done to address
this issue.
Enter Chief Executives for Corporate
Purpose (CECP), a 20-year-old CEO-led
coalition of more than 200 of the world’s
largest companies. Founded in 1999 by
actor and philanthropist Paul Newman,
the organization is now a force for good
representing a whopping $6.2 trillion in
revenue, $18.4 billion in societal invest-
ment, 13 million employees, and $15 tril-
lion in assets. CECP’s estimable mission:
creating a better world through business.
When the leaders at CECP talk, enterprises
listen, because the organization backs up its
work with hard fi gures. Its annual Giving in
Numbers report is the go-to benchmarking re-
source for companies that want to measure their
performance in social investments against those
of their peers. And its data set on giving trends,
shared by more than 500 multibillion-dollar com-
panies, is the largest on record.
The most recent signifi cant trend CECP iden-
tifi ed is about STEM-related giving. According to
the Giving in Numbers: 2019 Edition report, be-
tween 2016 and 2018, the number of companies
that named STEM a top-priority focus area rose
by 6.5%—the largest increase. The energy indus-
try had the highest median cash giving to K–12
education and higher education in 2018—$5.08
million and $5.88 million, respectively—through
