Ownership Works, a new nonprofit dedicated to implementing broad-based employee ownership programs across the corporate world to benefit working families, has launched today. McKinsey joins more than 60 organizations across the private, public, and social sectors as a founding partner of the new initiative.
“We believe our support of Ownership Works is one way that McKinsey can help create sustainable and inclusive growth,” says McKinsey senior partner Aurobind Satpathy, who helps lead the relationship. “Their approach is a powerful way to drive equitable wealth creation, while helping companies attract and retain the people they need to spur outstanding business performance and growth.”
Ownership Works will work to raise awareness and interest in shared-ownership programs and furnish organizations with the tools they need to implement them. According to the nonprofit, the initiative could help millions of lower-income workers and people of color, who have for generations been largely excluded from a range of wealth-building opportunities. By 2030, for example, Ownership Works aims to have generated at least $20 billion of wealth for working families.
“This movement is about working in concert to create a future of work where employers and employees can win together,” says Anna-Lisa Miller, executive director of Ownership Works. “We believe broad-based employee ownership should be an important pillar of stakeholder capitalism and of an inclusive, equitable, and resilient economy.”
Our research has laid out the massive opportunity for driving inclusive growth. For instance, the median Black household today has only about one-eighth of the wealth held by the median White household. In fact, the actual dollar amounts found in Federal Reserve data are striking: while the median White household has amassed $188,000, the median Black family has about $24,000. If that gap were closed, our research has found, as much as $1.5 trillion in economic output could be unleashed.
Ownership Works will advance its mission through several key components. It will work to structure and implement broad-based ownership programs offered at no cost to all employees. It will also work to help organizations create cultures of shared ownership, increase employees’ financial literacy and access to cost-effective financial services, and share data and insights on the impact of shared ownership on employee wellbeing and corporate performance.
McKinsey is supporting Ownership Works with expertise and a project team on a pro bono basis, building core infrastructure that will help organizations implement shared ownership programs. “By establishing a standardized and modular step-by-step process with supporting tools for each step, Ownership Works will be able to scale up its capacity to bring on board companies who are excited to join the shared ownership movement,” says McKinsey partner Brian Loh, who is helping to lead the effort.
This movement is about working in concert to create a future of work where employers and employees can win together.
Anna-Lisa Miller, Ownership Works executive director
Elsewhere, the organization’s founding partners will contribute in a variety of ways. Financial services firms and pension funds have committed to elevate shared ownership as an ESG strategy; public companies with employee ownership will share expertise; and investment firms have committed to create replicable models for shared ownership.
“Ownership Works is incredibly grateful for McKinsey’s investment in our shared vision,” says Anna-Lisa. “Through a significant contribution of expertise and resources, McKinsey is helping us stand up an employee ownership advisory practice that will position companies to not only share wealth with lower-income and diverse employees but also improve workplace culture and employee engagement. We’re thrilled that McKinsey has joined the shared ownership movement to reimagine equity and build wealth for all.”