Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI)

Southwest Airlines® recognizes, respects, and values differences. By fostering a Culture that embraces and utilizes unique skills, talents, and backgrounds, we create competitive advantages in Teamwork and innovation that contribute to our overall success.

The Vision of DEI at Southwest® is to cultivate a Culture of Belonging where all our People can thrive. Our focus is to fuel ongoing momentum to operationalize DEI in our processes and practices to achieve systemic and sustainable change.

Every. Single. One. Of. Us.

At Southwest Airlines, our Heart represents our identity. It’s more than the symbol of our brand. It’s who we are. We’re a Company of People. People representing diversity of culture, background, experiences, and viewpoints. Each of our Employees bring their own talents, creativity, and individuality. And together, we make Southwest the incredible Company it is. Our People are the Heart of Southwest Airlines.

Inclusion has always been at the Heart of Southwest. Our Company was founded on the principle of putting People first, and we’ve never wavered from that commitment. That means all People. We’re committed to being a place where Employees feel welcomed and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work without fear of hate, racism, discrimination, harassment, intolerance, disrespect, or injustice. We understand that in order for every Employee at Southwest to thrive, we must foster an environment of impartiality, fairness, representation, and balance.

 

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We're committed to listening to our People—Employees and Customers—and doing our part to drive meaningful change, both inside and outside the Company. We’re also dedicated to working alongside our suppliers and community partners to champion DEI in the communities we serve. Like many other companies, we’re on a journey and we recognize that there is always more we can do to make our work environment even better, even more accepting. We’re committed to enhancing our DEI efforts with a particular focus in the areas of Talent, Culture and Values, Brand and Reputation, and Communication. In order to reach our goals and aspirations, we must allow for vulnerability, engage in courageous conversations, and listen to our Employees, Customers, and Communities.

Grounded in The Southwest Way, it takes every single one of us to build a Culture of Belonging. We must embrace and live out our Values, every day, in every way.

We each succeed when we bring our best selves to work. We succeed when we embrace civility and treat each other with respect and Hospitality. Southwest succeeds when we stay agile and focused on being excellent in all we do. It takes every single one of us.

DEI Commitment and Goals

Our commitment to DEI is reflected in the practices and Teams that turn that commitment to innovation and positive change, including diversity among Leadership and management; evolving our hiring and development practices; and creating robust community partnerships. In 2020, we set the following goals:

  • Hiring & Development Practices: Evolving hiring and development practices to support broadening our talent pipelines, including posting all new, open Leadership positions (Vice President and below) and requiring diverse Candidate slates for each role.
  • Senior Leadership Diversity: Measuring progress in increasing diversity in Senior Leadership (as compared to July 2020)
  • Senior Management Committee Diversity: Doubling the percentage of racial diversity and increasing gender diversity in our Senior Management Committee by 2025 (as compared to July 2020).
  • Community Partners: Engaging a breadth of community partners to leverage relationships in sourcing talent for our candidate pipelines.

Joining us in this effort, the Southwest Airlines Board of Directors committed to increase diverse representation on the Board by 2025 (as compared to 2020).

Initiatives to fulfill our goals are driven by the DEI Department, which also has established a cross-functional Executive Steering Committee, and working Team. Additional information and our latest updates on progress for these goals can be found in the Southwest Airlines One Report.

Recognizing Culture, Heritage, and Pride as a Company

We are proud to recognize our Cultural, Heritage, and Pride months throughout the year. This includes nationally observed holidays and months of celebration that honor our Employees and the communities we serve. These celebrations include, but aren’t limited to:

  • February: Black History Month
  • March: Women’s History Month
  • May: Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month & Military Appreciation Month
  • June: LGBTQ Pride Month
  • July: Disability Pride Month
  • September/October: Hispanic Heritage Month

See it in action: watch our Cultural, Heritage, & Pride stories on YouTube.

Employee Resource Groups

Our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are formed through the efforts of Employees organized around a specific dimension of diversity or identity. These groups promote our commitment to Belonging and adhere to our Southwest's Values.

Our ERGs are open to any Employee who supports the group's mission, regardless of whether the Employee shares in the common dimension of diversity or identity.

We currently have 7 Employee Resource Groups at Southwest Airlines:

  • Able@SWA: Employees with Disabilities & Allies
  • B.E.A.T.@SWA (Black Excellence Advancing Together): Black Employees & Allies
  • Corazón@SWA: Hispanic & Latinx Employees & Allies
  • Military@SWA: Military Employees & Allies
  • Out @ Proud@SWA; LGBTQ+ Employees & Allies
  • R.A.P.I.D.@SWA (Resilient Asian & Pacific Islander Descendants): AAPI Employees & Allies
  • Women@SWA: Women Employees & Allies

DEI Awards

We're proud to be recognized for our efforts and initiatives in the DEI space. These accolades help confirm and celebrate our commitment to a Culture of Belonging.

2024

  • Earned Top Score in Human Rights Campaign Foundation's 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index
  • Designated one of the 25 Best Companies for Latinos to Work 2024 by Latino Leaders Magazine
  • Received the following 2024 designations from Viqtory: Military Friendly Employer, Military Spouse Employer, and Military Friendly Supplier Diversity Program

2023

  • Named to America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women 2023 by Newsweek
  • Named to America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023 by Newsweek
  • Best Companies to Work for Latinos 2023 by Latino Leaders Magazine

2022

  • 2022 Best Places to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality, Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index
  • 2022 Forbes Best Places for Diversity in America
  • 2022 Best Places to Work: Disability Inclusion, The Disability Equality Index®
  • 2022 Best Companies for Latinos to Work, Latino Leaders Magazine
  • 2022 Best Airline, Readers Voice Awards
  • 2022 Military Friendly Company, The Military Friendly® Company Survey
  • 2022 Military Friendly Brand, The Military Friendly® Company Survey
  • 2022 Military Friendly Employer—Bronze, The Military Friendly® Company Survey
  • 2022 Military Friendly Supplier Diversity Program, The Military Friendly® Company Survey
  • 2022 Military Friendly Spouse Employer, The Military Friendly® Company Survey

2021

  • 2021 Best Places to Work: Disability Inclusion, The Disability Equality Index®
  • 2021 Accelerating Women to Corporate Boards, 50/50 Women on Boards

DEI Partnerships

We’ve supported diverse communities for many years, contributing to community programs tailored to accelerate social and economic advancement. The Southwest Airlines Corporate Responsibility Team drives Southwest’s Citizenship efforts by cultivating more than 400 community relationships to generate impact across the communities we serve. We work with our community partners in developing diverse and inclusive talent pipelines and expanding recruiting efforts. Some of our longstanding partners include:

Black/African American Community Partners

  • 100 Black Men, Inc.
  • United Negro College Fund (UNCF)
  • Foundation for Educational Development, Inc.
  • Houston Area Urban League
  • Tuskegee Next Foundation

Hispanic/Latino Community Partners

  • Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)
  • Hispanic Heritage Foundation
  • Latino Leaders Magazine
  • Latin American Educational Foundation
  • Chicanos Por La Causa
  • United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

Asian American & Pacific Islander Community Partners

  • Center for Asian American United for Self-Empowerment (CAUSE)
  • Achieving through Choice in Education (ACE) Foundation
  • Asian & Pacific Islander Americans (APIA) Scholars
  • The Center for Asian Pacific American Women
  • Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association
  • Leadership Education for Asian Pacific Inc.

LGBTQ+ Community Partners

  • National LGBT Chamber of Commerce
  • Equality California Institute
  • ONE Community Foundation
  • The Montrose Center
  • Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada Inc.
  • North Texas LGBT Chamber of Commerce

Individuals with Disabilities Community Partners

  • Disability:IN
  • AccesSurf Hawaii
  • Challenge Aspen
  • Kidd's Kids
  • Steamboat Adaptive Recreational Sports

Women Community Partners

  • Arizona Foundation for Women Inc.
  • Texas Women's Foundation
  • National Association of Women Business Owners
  • Women Impacting Public Policy
  • Women's Foundation of California
  • Girl Scouts San Diego

Military Community Partners

  • A Million Thanks
  • Honor Flight Network
  • Help Heal Veterans
  • Team Rubicon
  • PTSD Foundation of America
  • National Veteran Owned Business Association

Employment Partners

  • Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals
  • Professional Asian Pilots Association
  • National Gay Pilots Association
  • Women in Aviation International
  • Latino Pilots Association
  • Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) First
  • COOP
  • Hiring our Heroes
  • Women in CyberSecurity

Southwest Airlines Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Report

We realize Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion is an ongoing journey – a journey that requires vulnerability, transparency, and courageous conversations. Our DEI Report is a part of that journey. This annual report outlines our commitment to transparency and inclusion by outlining our priorities and path forward.

 

Supplier Diversity

In the same way we recognize that a diverse Employee base generates strength, we know our Suppliers are an integral part of our success. Our Small Business and Diverse Owned Business Programs enable Southwest to extend opportunities to qualified small and diverse Suppliers who in turn can help us fulfill our operational needs and satisfy the expectations of our Shareholders and Customers, as well as meet competitive business challenges.

 

The Southwest Airlines One Report

Explore our annual corporate social responsibility report, the Southwest Airlines One Report. This integrated Citizenship report covers significant social, economic, and environmental stories, as well as data tables, and reporting frameworks, all through the lens of corporate Citizenship. Our disclosures have been prepared in reference to the following standards: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Check out the One Report