{"id":18515,"date":"2022-02-22T11:31:29","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T16:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seramount.com\/?p=18515"},"modified":"2025-11-21T12:50:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:50:29","slug":"black-equity-at-work-abbott-celebrates-20-years-of-their-black-business-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seramount.com\/articles\/black-equity-at-work-abbott-celebrates-20-years-of-their-black-business-network\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Equity at Work: Abbott Celebrates 20 Years of their Black Business Network"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This month we are highlighting our Diversity Best Practices<\/a> member, Abbott, which has just celebrated 20 years of its Employee Resource Group for Black employees: the Black Business Network (BBN). We sat down and spoke with the co-chairs of Abbott\u2019s BBN, Samer Saleh, divisional vice president, Project Management Office, Rapid Diagnostics, and Maria Shaw, senior director, Project Management Office, Rapid Diagnostics, to learn more about the group\u2019s success, the hybrid celebration, and how other organizations can learn from BBN\u2019s impact on employees and business goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell me about the Black Business Network at Abbott. What are some of the goals of the BBN? Why is it so important to have this community at Abbott?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Abbott\u2019s Black Business Network started 20 years ago with 30 founding committee members at our headquarters in the northern Chicago suburbs. Since then, we\u2019ve grown to more than 1,800 members representing 14 chapters globally. The network plays a key role in engaging, encouraging and energizing Black employees at Abbott while also championing and advocating for underrepresented groups and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our mission is to cultivate an environment where all professionals are committed to an inclusive and equitable workplace, enabling Black employees to achieve their full potential while contributing to Abbott\u2019s success. It\u2019s important to have this community at Abbott because we serve the greater company in several ways. Our members bolster Black equity through recruitment and retention activities, sponsor professional and leadership development opportunities and network with local communities to advance health equity, develop young talent and establish diverse business partnerships. All of these efforts support Abbott\u2019s 2030 Sustainability Plan<\/a> goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has helped to make Abbott\u2019s BBN so successful? How has this group helped employees bring their most authentic selves to work?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The network\u2019s success rests in the strength, dedication and commitment of our members. We strive to support and advance Abbott\u2019s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts with high-interest events centered around four pillars that we believe serve inclusive leadership: professional development; collaboration, outreach and recognition; communication; and membership and engagement. We\u2019re proud of the impact we\u2019ve made to boost representation, provide diverse viewpoints and support our members, helping many achieve their career goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How was the 20th<\/sup> anniversary of the BBN celebrated?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

BBN celebrated our 20th<\/sup> anniversary, \u201cSustainability Through Inclusive Leadership,\u201d with a hybrid event that hosted 200 people at Abbott\u2019s global headquarters outside of Chicago and an additional 2,000 virtual attendees. The program began with a video with thoughts from founding members, and we were honored that the majority of them attended along with members from across Abbott globally. This created an atmosphere that honored the past, recognized the present and looked forward to the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders from Abbott\u2019s corporate divisions and businesses joined us. Abbott\u2019s executive vice president of Human Resources and chief communications and marketing officer both shared speeches about the importance of sustainability and diversity. Network leadership participated in a \u201cfireside chat\u201d discussion, taking questions from members. Afterwards, many continued the celebration on social networks like LinkedIn, sharing their experiences from the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can other organizations create successful ERGs like Abbott\u2019s? <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

ERGs ensure they are adding value along multiple dimensions. At Abbott, we have 10 ERGs, and we believe they are critical to our success in creating a culture where everyone can come to work and be themselves. All groups strive to do at least three of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n