their DEI budget for next year to increase. These numbers are proof
that Moody’s mission refl ects a larger trend in the corporate world.
But Bartley stresses that Moody’s eff orts also address an even bigger
picture.
“For us, diversity and inclusion are a business imperative. It’s not
just something that’s nice to have; it is a must-have,” he says. “We
want to show our authentic commitment to advancing Black culture,
and show how focusing on Black talent is an asset to our organiza-
tion globally.”
To Bartley’s point, Moody’s has partnered with the Executive
Leadership Council, the premier organization for developing Black
executives in America, to launch the Raymond McDaniel Scholar-
ship Program for college students. The fi ve-year, $1 million program,
named for Moody’s recently retired CEO, will off er recipients an
internship at Moody’s beginning their sophomore year and, upon
graduation, a job that allows them to rotate between diff erent sec-
tors within the company. After two or three years, they will be evalu-
ated for a permanent role.
This program will help young Black talent fi nd professional op-
portunities at Moody’s—and it will also help Moody’s fi nd promising
and diverse new talent. The hope is that when scholarship recipients
return to their campuses, they will tell their peers about the culture
of inclusivity at Moody’s, which will help diversify Moody’s applicant
pool in the future.
Moody’s also understands the importance of community initia-
tives. In June, the company announced a $1 million commitment to
support equal justice and the advancement of Black communities
over the next fi ve years. The eff ort was launched with a $100,000
donation to the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), which is committed to
challenging racial injustice in the United States. And to ensure that
Black voices within the company are heard, donations will be made in
consultation with Moody’s Black Inclusion Group.
Additionally, Moody’s has joined some of the world’s largest com-
panies as a participant in the Management Leadership for Tomorrow
(MLT) Black Equity at Work Certifi cation, which provides an objec-
tive third-party assessment of employers’ eff orts to move toward
achieving Black equity.
The MLT certifi cation road map helps companies achieve the
same results-oriented success in Black equity as they do in other
aspects of their business. Focusing on the three P’s—People,
Purchasing, and Philanthropy—the program provides actionable
benchmarks, best practices, and insights that companies can use
to achieve genuine racial equity across all levels of their corporate
structure.
“As we go on this journey, we’re providing a level of transparency,
and putting a level of certifi cation around it, to say what you’re doing
is the gold standard,” says Bartley.
For Moody’s, supporting Black employees is a cornerstone of its
eff ort to support diversity and inclusion among everyone who works
for the company. For example, the Raymond McDaniel Scholarship
Program can serve as a model for future DEI-related initiatives that
will improve the company’s talent pipeline among other underrepre-
sented groups, such as women, veterans, and people with disabili-
ties, as well as in the LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities.
“There is this very continuous, purposeful, and engaging con-
versation around not just the Black experience but diversity at all
levels,” Bartley says. “DEI is in our corporate DNA.”
As a company built on data and analysis, Moody’s is used to
fi nding objective, actionable ways to address complicated issues.
Corporate DEI is no diff erent.
“Just like we train employees on a skill set or a methodology,
we’re training them on diversity and inclusion,” Bartley says. “We
believe that by doing that consistently, we will deliver exponential
benefi ts.” ■CONTENT FROM MOODY'SIn 2 0 2 0 M o o d y ’s B la c k In c lu s ion G r o up ( B. I. G ) h o s t e d a s e r ie s o f e v e n t s t o
e duc a t e e mplo y e e s an d c e le br a t e B la c k Hi s t or y M on t h.