Doug Parker, CEO of American Airlines
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
More needs to be done to end racial inequality, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said Wednesday.
As protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody sweep across dozens of U.S. cities, many top executives have said corporations need to do more to combat racial inequality in its various forms.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American appointed Kenneth Charles in January as chief inclusion and diversity officer, a new role and department at the airline. American also has included implicit bias training for its staff, which number roughly 130,000.
“All that work, really important work, has had really [a] positive impact,” Parker told CNBC in an interview. “What I think we are all seeing as a country is that those initiatives, while helpful, are insufficient and we need to do more.”
Parker added that corporate leaders must be more “deliberate” to break down barriers.
“There are structural barriers in place that keep these disparities in place,” he said.