Microsoft plans to double the number of Black and African American company leaders and suppliers

• Microsoft plans to double the number of Black and African American leaders within the company, and the number of Black and African American suppliers with which it works.
• The company also announced a series of outside investments meant to support Black- and African-American-owned banks and other kinds of businesses.
• Microsoft declined to comment in response to a request about Black and African American leaders and suppliers it has now.
• Are you a current or former Microsoft employee? Contact this reporter via encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@businessinsider.com).

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Tuesday announced a series of investments meant to address racial injustice, within and outside the company.

Microsoft said it plans to double the number of Black and African American "managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders" in the US by 2025, but declined to comment to a request about how many Black managers the company employs now.

The company in its November diversity report said 2.7% of its executives and 4.5% of its employees are Black/African American. Microsoft plans to increase the number of Black and African American leaders within the company by devoting an additional $150 million to diversity and inclusion efforts.

Microsoft also said it would double the number of Black- and African-American-owned suppliers the company works with over the next three years, and plans to spend $500 million with those suppliers. The company declined to say how many Black and African-American suppliers it works with now.

The company also announced a series of investment to support Black communities, such as a $100 million program to benefit Black- and African-American-owned banks, a $50 million partner fund, and a $50 million investment in the company's justice reform initiative.

The announcement comes after employees have called on the company to address systemic racism. Microsoft employees recently used an internal company message board to share their personal experiences with the ongoing protests against police brutality and systemic racism, and called for leadership to take action.

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