Kepler Group is thrilled to be one of the first 15 companies to have our plan approved by MLT Black Equity at Work, a certification program that establishes a standard and roadmap for employers to make measurable progress towards Black equity in the workplace. 

"Through the hard work of our team, DEI at Kepler has become what I had always hoped for—a crucial part of the very fabric of our organization,” says Justin Roberts, Director of Kepler’s DEI Center of Excellence. “At every previous point in my career, DEI has been the optional box organizations choose to casually ignore. At Kepler, we mark that box with ink."

Kepler’s BEW plan approval comes after 18 months of intense work on DEI. In that time, we’ve worked diligently to better address the inequities Black communities and individuals are faced with both inside and outside our own doors. 

Since 2019, we’ve increased Black employee hiring by 400%, activated our Black Employee Resource Group (Blackstars) and launched Kepler Academy, a pro bono program helping people from under-represented groups break into digital marketing. These steps have been key to our progress toward Black Equity in the Workplace, but while we’re proud of the progress we’ve made so far, we remain committed to continuing the work that’s necessary to create an inclusive and equitable culture for everyone.

We also couldn’t be more excited that we achieved plan approval alongside companies that possess exponentially greater resources (Nike, ViacomCBS, Deloitte, and others). Like them, we’ll be working to achieve certification by addressing Black Equity at Work’s five core pillars:

1. Black representation at every level
2. Compensation equity
3. An inclusive, anti-racist work environment
4. Racially-just business practices
5. Racial justice contributions and investments

While many employers recognize the need for Black equity at work, and have even named Black equity a top priority, they don’t always know how best to achieve their racial equity goals—and don’t always commit the resources that are really necessary to achieve them. MLT Black Equity at Work helps employers live up to their word by outlining standards they can use to benchmark and measure their actions.

“We’re committed to doing everything we need to as we pursue true Black equity within our company and the broader industry,” says CEO Rick Greenberg. “And the BEW roadmap is an incredibly powerful tool to help us do that.” 

Learn more about the certification and MLT.