Lori George Billingsley, the former global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, at The Coca-Cola Company, spoke with Dana Walters, associate editor of The Practice, about her career and what it takes for a chief diversity officer to succeed.
Dana Walters: I’d love to start by finding out a little bit about your career. You were with Coca-Cola for 20 years and eventually became the global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer. Can you talk about your background and how you eventually became chief diversity officer [CDO]?
Lori George Billingsley: Growing up in my household, I saw very early on the power of bringing different voices to the table to solve complex and even local issues.
I grew up with parents who believed that the best way to solve societal issues was to bring together people from different industries, backgrounds, and perspectives to discuss them and come up with a plan of action. These solution-oriented conversations happened regularly around our kitchen table and became my first exposure to the power of diversity. They left an indelible impact on me and is why I say that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has always been in my DNA. After graduating from Howard University, I worked for the DC government in public affairs and communications for a few years before joining a top PR firm, Porter Novelli, where I started their multicultural communications practice. I left, started my own consultancy, and through the process of time moved to Atlanta. While I was at Howard, Coca-Cola had all of the top campaigns around multicultural marketing. I thought, If I move to Atlanta, I need to work for Coke.
I expressed interest in [the chief diversity officer role] because I saw it as an opportunity to make an impact inside the four walls of the company, as my other roles were all externally focused.
Lori George Billingsley, former global chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer, The Coca-Cola Company
What I initially thought was going to be a couple years ended up being a 20-year career. I started in regional communications in North America, followed by four lateral moves over an eight-year period. I went from regional communications, to global issues management, to shareowner affairs, to multicultural communications, to the chief of staff for the public affairs lead in North America. I then led community giving and stakeholder engagement, including directing funds from the company’s foundation for its North America operations. With each role, there were ties to advancing diversity. In the community role, I worked closely with the CDO function to ensure they were connected with our diversity-focused community partners. It was then that I got a firsthand look at the work we were doing both internally and communicating it externally.
When the CDO role became available, I expressed interest in it mainly because I saw it as an opportunity to make an impact inside the four walls of the company, as my other roles were all externally focused.
Walters: That makes a lot of sense—how you jumped from communications to DEI and making sure everyone’s voice were included. The field has changed a lot in the last 20 years, not to mention the last four. Were there specific DEI initiatives that you oversaw that really made a difference in your field?
Billingsley: To give you a sense of how it’s changed, when I first started in the role in 2018, I was chief diversity officer. About a year and a half in we added “inclusion”—it was a chief diversity and inclusion officer. Then, post–George Floyd, we added equity. So, in just a three-and-a-half-year period it went from chief diversity officer to chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer.
We were already doing the work of DEI and saw a need to expand our traditional diversity remit to also put a focus on inclusion and equity to ensure employees had a sense of belonging, being valued, and fairness. Having all three terms to the function was an acknowledgment both internally and externally of the global expansive nature of the work.
There were several things that truly moved the needle. We conducted a global pay equity analysis. We also deployed an inclusion index across our operations to determine the varying levels of inclusion.
If you don’t have buy-in at the top—if the chairperson/CEO is not really a champion [of DEI]—then there’s not going to be any real action.
We set public aspirations over a specific time horizon—being 50 percent led by women by 2030 and mirroring the markets served in the U.S., based on Census data, at every job-grade level for African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians. For me, that was probably the biggest stake in the ground. And then every other operating unit could come up with their locally relevant aspiration. Finally, we tied DEI metrics to executive compensation.
In the context of all of this, however, the main mover was the tone at the top. If you don’t have buy-in at the top—if the chairperson/CEO is not really a champion—then there’s not going to be any real action. And so we were able to do all those things because of the buy-in from the executive leadership team.
One last thing: diversity means different things based on where you are in the world. In the U.S. you might be focusing on race, but somewhere else in the world you could be focusing on a completely different dimension of diversity. While I was at Coca-Cola, we defined five dimensions of diversity for our workforce:
- Culture and heritage, which included race and religion
- LGBTQI+, which included gender identity
- Gender
- Generations
- Abilities
Point being, as a CDO, you can’t use a cookie cutter approach.
Walters: That’s so important. You have to have good leadership. And what you said about public aspirations is interesting because in many places, companies can say things and not be legally held accountable, but in other countries, the courts have recently stepped in and said that public statements can be legal binding. Because the law has a lot to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion, what was your relationship with the legal department as a CDO? What role do you think lawyers have to play in advancing these issues?
Billingsley: My whole team had a really strong partnership with the legal function. I actually had two lawyers who were partly embedded on my team. Because part of my remit included compliance-focused areas, we had to work closely with legal. I think a lot of times there’s this perception that the legal function is going to block everything. I had the opposite experience where I was working in partnership with the legal function to determine what we needed to do.
To give you an example, in some countries, you may not legally be able to identify certain characteristics. While working on a self-ID campaign, we worked in tandem with our legal team at every juncture to ensure all bases were covered.
Because we were lockstep on advancing a number of diversity initiatives, we were able to regularly expedite getting approvals while keeping the integrity of the process and end results.
It’s incumbent on the law firm to give the CDOs what they need to be successful. Don’t just do window dressing. Really give them what they need—the resources, including people and budget. Remember, it’s a partnership that requires collaboration across the board.
Walters: Interestingly, the legal profession, and in particular law firms, have recently began appointing chief diversity officers. What would your advice be for a new law firm CDO?
Billingsley: Number one, I think it’s incumbent on the law firm to give the CDOs what they need to be successful. Don’t just do window dressing. Really give them what they need—the resources, including people and budget. Remember, it’s a partnership that requires collaboration across the board.
For the CDO, glean from best practices that are out there. Don’t boil the ocean. Look at the data and pick three things you’re going to go do and focus on going deep and wide with them. There was this one organization that reached out to me after I left Coke and said, “We’re not really doing anything on DEI right now, so we’ve come up with 17 initiatives that we’re going to do.” And I said, “Tell me any other business objectives you have that includes 17 action items.” And they said, “None. It’s usually three to five things.” I said, “Right. So why are you trying to go out with lots of fanfare with all of these initiatives? Even though you have really good intentions, you’re sure to fail. The goal should be that you want this to be sustainable.” It’s really important to focus on sustainability and where you can have the deepest impact.
Also, do good research, like Frank Dobbin and Alexandra Kalev’s work, because there’s lots out there that can help drive the best practices and can really move the needle the furthest fastest.
Lastly, I would say, complement—don’t compete. We’re all in this together. Do what makes sense for your business and partner with others to advance the work so it gets done. And don’t let it just be in word, but let it be in deed and action too.
Walters: That’s a lovely way to put it. Speaking of words and deeds, a recent big project at the Center on the Legal Profession has focused on ESG and how businesses are making public statements around social issues. What do you think the role of business—and their leaders—is in taking public stances and pushing for a more equitable world?
Billingsley: Businesses have a responsibility to take a stand. It really boils down to what are the company’s values and what aligns with them. It shouldn’t be that complicated. If there’s a macro issue that’s out there that is not in alignment with your company’s values, and you know that it affects your consumers and your employees, then you really do have a duty and a responsibility to say something. The most recent Edelman Trust Barometer showed that there’s an actual impact for consumers and employees when they’re making purchasing decisions of accepting a job if their company isn’t in alignment with their values. Over the past several years employers have become some of the most trusted institutions. People are looking at businesses to help fix our social problems.
[The board of directors has] a duty and responsibility to ensure that DEI matters and that there are actions and initiatives taking place at all levels in the organization.
Now, you could debate, is that really a business’s role or not? I do believe that businesses must be mindful when and where they speak out. You don’t want to be speaking out on every issue. It’s those ones that are core to their values. Then, I do think companies have an obligation to say something. There must be systems and processes in place that help you determine your actions. They should include standards or rules on when to speak out—and on which issues, who should be the spokesperson, and is it something that’s an internal message only or is it also external? But absolutely, I do believe that companies have a responsibility more and more to take a stand. And people are expecting that.
Walters: It’s interesting what you say about having policies and practice in place, because you also have a lot of experience on boards, including a number focused on DEI such as the NAACP Foundation and Catalyst, as well as corporate boards. What is the role of boards in pushing for DEI?
Billingsley: As I said before, I really do believe that the tone at the top is what matters most, so it all starts with the board of directors. They have a duty and responsibility to ensure that DEI matters and that there are actions and initiatives taking place at all levels in the organization. If you think about it, the board needs to make sure that there’s diversity on it first. And then it should be reflected throughout the entire organization.
Boards are not immune to DEI within its ranks. It’s reflected throughout. And I think accountability at the top with the management team all the way through the organization is key. If DEI isn’t being discussed in the boardroom, then that needs to be immediately rectified.
Boards should also be learning from people throughout the organization so they get a sense of what’s really happening and the pulse of the culture as well as how people are feeling.
There should be regular reports out to the board on the actions and the initiatives that are being taken and how leaders are being held accountable. I don’t want to simply hear, “Oh, we’ve got this great program.” I want to hear, “We’ve got this great program, and here’s how it’s tracking and being measured and how we’re holding managers accountable.” At the end of the day, the board has a responsibility to be asking the right questions and holding leaders accountable.
I would hope that companies will continue to see the value and the need to continue to press forward with advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organizations at all levels.
Walters: My final question takes a very broad lens. In the last week, we’ve had two monumental Supreme Court decisions that are affecting the DEI conversation: first, ending race-conscious admissions in the Harvard and UNC cases, and second, opening the door further for discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals in the so-called 303 Creative case. And as you well know, DEI is itself becoming so highly politicized. What do you think the downstream impact of these discussions and these decisions are?
Billingsley: I saw this powerful quote from Justice Sotomayor that sums it up. She wrote: “Entrenched racial inequality remains a reality today. Ignoring race will not equalize a society that is racially unequal.” And I agree: ignoring an issue doesn’t make it go away. Rulings like these fuel dismissing DEI efforts and give institutions and organizations a reason to pass on advancing diversity to level the playing field. And I think that’s the danger of rulings like these.
People will just say, “We don’t have to do this anymore. Everything’s fine.” And it’s not. I would hope that companies will continue to see the value and the need—not just the value; it’s not just a nice thing to do or a good thing to do—but the need to continue to press forward with advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organizations at all levels.
Walters: Well, I certainly hope they continue to see the value and the need as well. Thank you for taking the time and sharing your wisdom and insights with us today.
Lori George Billingsley is the former global chief diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) officer for The Coca-Cola Company. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pioneer Natural Resources, Shake Shack, NAACP Foundation and Arete Executive Women of Influence. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Director’s Center for Inclusive Governance Advisory Council, Howard University’s School of Communications Board of Visitors, Executive Leadership Council, OnBoard, International Women’s Forum and IWIN Advisory Board Committee.
Dana Walters is the associate editor of The Practice.
