What if our diverse city keeps advancing diversity?

In Dallas, meaningful action and conversations about equality continue to lead to deeper understanding and progress.

Systemic racism, discrimination and injustice are a human rights crisis. At Ernst & Young LLP (EY US), we have vowed to continue to be a force and a voice for a more just and equitable world. In Dallas, and across the country, meaningful action and conversations about equality continue to lead to deeper understanding and progress.

More than 20,000 of our professionals are currently involved in 1 of the 9 EY US Professional Networks. These groups engage locally and collectively to assist members in building their network and get involved in countless opportunities to enhance their EY US experience and create positive impact in their local communities. One such network, the EY Dallas Black Professional Network (BPN), has been active for more than 25 years. Members come together regularly to serve the community, hold celebrations and support one another’s career aspirations. As part of servicing the community, they volunteer their time through EY Ripples programs, such as College MAP (Mentoring for Access and Persistence), and with local schools, such as St. Philip’s School and Community Center.

We are committed to taking action to eradicate racism and advance diversity, inclusion and equity by leveraging its influence to drive tangible change. “In spite of everything that happened in 2020, it was still very difficult to have transparent conversations and be vulnerable in front of large audiences because I was often reliving my own personal experiences with racism,” says Sharonda Lacy, Assurance Senior Manager and co-leader of the EY Dallas BPN. “But I felt it was important to be a bridge. There were topics that Black professionals wanted to discuss that some didn’t feel comfortable raising in the workplace. And then there were topics that non-Black professionals wanted to learn about, including the personal experiences of their Black colleagues, but didn’t know how to ask the questions or approach the conversation,” she says. “Sharing my personal experiences and being willing to have the discussions served the purpose for both. I wanted to make sure I didn’t sit back and do nothing.”

Our commitment to anti-racism has led to reviewing internal talent and business practices around recruiting, talent development, coaching and counseling, career advancement, and learning and development. Another such effort is helping underserved K-12 students by working with existing organizations throughout the US to deliver solutions to increase broadband connectivity and provide much needed hardware. EY US is also providing professional mentors for these students to help them develop the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the digital age.

Another EY US program that aims to help Black- and Latinx-owned companies address the disparity gap for greater growth is the Entrepreneurs Access Network (EAN). Financial health makes minority-owned enterprises three times as likely to close vs. non-minority owned businesses. We believe that if race, networks and funding barriers for Black and Latinx entrepreneurs were equal to non-minority founders, all communities would benefit. The EAN program leverages the significant reach of the Entrepreneur Of The Year® platform to help connect participants to peers, sponsors, capital, and customers. In Dallas, we’re excited to launch our own chapter of the EAN, and we already have involvement from several minority-owned businesses. 

“The impetus in our focus is ‘do better,’” says EY Strategy and Transactions Partner Kevin Muskat, who also co-leads the Dallas BPN. “There are two parts. One is understanding and education, and the other is action. These two parts are happening, and need to happen, at the same time to effectuate real change. We want to keep this momentum going. This means we need to remain focused and committed to consistently showing up and continuing our work toward equality."

How EY is helping to build a better Dallas