Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in action

We’re purpose driven and action oriented in building a culture of greater inclusion and belonging to better reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

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Purpose driven, action oriented
Business Resource Groups (BRGs)
Internal partnerships
Sharing our stories

Purpose driven, action oriented

Explore some of the ways we’re taking action:

Built a foundation for sustainable impact:

Achieved and committed to maintaining near-perfect pay equity for employees of all genders and races performing comparable work across our U.S. operations
Shared our U.S. diversity representation data with employees and committed to more transparency to hold ourselves accountable for change, and to track and share our progress
Enhanced our DEI leadership by creating the Executive Council on DEI, chaired by President Brett Hart, with monthly participation by our full executive team
Created “We Stand United,” an officer-led collaborative action team to build and implement a systemwide DEI strategy focused on employees, customers, communities and commercial partners
Paired each Business Resource Group with a cross-cultural executive sponsor to help lead their mission and provide further layers of visibility and support

Listened, learned and developed together:

Launched REAL Conversations, a virtual series of events and publications to facilitate a company-wide conversation on DEI
Facilitated listening sessions with employees and executive teams to share experiences and learn from each other
Delivered trainings across the system to create a more inclusive culture
Required inclusive leadership e-learning for managers
Created a mutual mentoring program that pairs leaders across levels and cultures
Updated appearance standards for uniformed, customer-facing employees to reflect a modernized look and more inclusive standards to better express individuality
Invited employees to add gender pronouns to email signatures to normalize gender-inclusive pronoun practices

Provided better customer service:

Redesigned the United app to be more accessible for people with visual disabilities
Launched our cultural advisory board to drive cultural awareness trainings and improve our customer experience
Launched trainings for all employees on board to better engage with our customers
Featured diverse suppliers in our United Club℠ locations

Made a difference in our communities:

Raised more than $30,000 through sales of a Black Lives Matter United-branded pin with our community partner that benefits underprivileged youth
Partnered with Kirkland & Ellis to donate an additional $50,000 to community partners
Committed 30 million MileagePlus miles during 2021 to raise funds in support of initiatives and organizations committed to DEI

Business Resource Groups (BRGs)

Our employee-run Business Resource Groups are strategic vehicles to amplify our employees’ voices, provide inclusive workplace support, increase awareness and understanding, challenge inequities and create platforms for service, learning and leadership development.

To contribute to our goal of being the world’s leading airline for an inclusive workplace, our strength is in our numbers:

24,000
BRG memberships
33
chapters
12
global locations
8
BRGs

Go purple for Spirit Day

Our BRGs and the DEI team came together to stand side by side in support of each other’s community with one clear message: Bullying, discrimination and hate do not fly with us.

BEACON — Black/African American

Bridge — People with disabilities

EQUAL — LGBTQ+

Gen Trend — Multigenerational

Kinnect — Families

uIMPACT— Women

UNITE — Multicultural

United4Veterans — Veterans

Our employee groups are key contributors to direct business impact:
- Our inflight entertainment is now more accessible than ever to people with visual impairments thanks to Bridge providing consulting and testing support from its membership group.
- Thanks to leadership from EQUAL, we’re the first airline to offer nonbinary gender booking options, a Stonewall inductee, and a leader in companies recognizing same-sex partner benefits.
- Well before the pandemic began, Gen Trend helped develop our remote work policy based on employee feedback.
- uIMPACT helped with enhancing our parental leave policy so our workplace could provide more support to working parent employees.
- UNITE has activated its broadly ranging ethnic and racial membership base to inform many key DEI strategies for the company: sharing insights that inspired the We Stand United collaborative action committee, forging relationships in our local communities, offering employees strategies to help them develop their careers and helping us launch our new BRG for Black and African American employees.
- In collaboration with United4Veterans, we removed a uniform requirement from our pre-boarding announcements to ensure military service members feel comfortable to come as they are when they fly with us.