Introduction 

2022 has been supplier diversity’s biggest year yet, with the community in the spotlight in ways it never has been before.  

The 2022 State of Supplier Diversity Reportshows that executive engagement is at an all-time high, with 61% of respondents reporting that their CEO is actively engaged with the program. 

Supplier diversity has been around and evolving for more than 50 years. Your program has been around for less time (unless you’re IBM), but it is still an important part of the goal to level the playing field for minorities, women, LGBTQ folks, veterans, and other marginalized business owners.

For too long, supplier diversity professionals have operated in a vacuum or echo chamber. With limited data points for comparison, it’s hard to know if supplier diversity efforts are any good. 

Answering the question “is this good?” has always been the biggest challenge faced by Supplier Diversity leaders. Historically, the only real data to measure against was your own program.