• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechraceAhead

Salesforce Plans to Name Its First Chief Equality Officer

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 13, 2016, 2:07 PM ET
Marc Benioff, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Salesforce, participates in a panel discussion at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco
Marc Benioff, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Salesforce, participates in a panel discussion at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco, California November 3, 2015. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage - RTX1UN7BElijah Nouvelage — Reuters

Salesforce is taking a bigger stand against inequality in the workplace.

Next week, the business software company plans to announce a chief equality officer, said Salesforce (CRM) CEO Marc Benioff on Tuesday during the annual TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco.

Benioff did not discuss the specific duties of the chief equality officer, nor who he has in mind for the role. But he noted whoever is chosen will report directly to him.

The announcement comes after a lengthy discussion on workplace diversity and equality, a subject about which Benioff said he is passionate.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Benioff talked about gender inequality facing many industries, such as the film and technology sectors, in which women are paid less than men for the same work positions.

“We have a broad set of programs to make sure that women not only have opportunities for growth, not only opportunities for career expansion, but are paid the same as men,” Benioff said. “A lot of companies are not willing to look to see are women paid the same as men.”

He added that both men and women “have to stand up” and say that they will “fight for equality.”

Benioff also detailed his recent public battles with politicians in Indiana and Georgia who supported laws that human-rights activists believed harmed the LGTB community. The CEO threatened to move Salesforce’s operations out of states considering so-called religious freedom laws that would effectively let businesses decline services to same-sex couples.

He said that certain politicians in those states have “hate in their hearts” and contrasted the more conservative views in those states with that of San Francisco, home to more progressively-inclined values.

“We had to fight back,” Benioff said, remarking although “it’s fine” for technology companies to merely focus on their products and their software code, doing so will not give executives or employees a feeling of self-satisfaction.

For more about Salesforce, watch:

“I’ll tell you you’re not going to really get the really great feeling of life,” Benioff said. “The real pleasure, which is to help other people.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

LawElon Musk
Musk misled Twitter investors before 2022 buyout, jury says
By Isaiah Poritz, Jef Feeley and BloombergMarch 20, 2026
7 hours ago
bespectacled man scratches the back of his head during congressional hearing
CryptoCryptocurrency
Kalshi locks in $22 billion valuation, gaining slight edge over its rival Polymarket
By Carlos GarciaMarch 20, 2026
10 hours ago
Big TechEntrepreneurs
Mark Cuban reads 1,000 emails a day—now he’s using a Mac Mini to fight the AI-generated flood threatening his clean inbox obsession
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 20, 2026
11 hours ago
Stressed out job seeker on laptop
Successjob hunting
Job seekers aren’t imagining things: the number of candidates ghosted by employers just reached a three-year high thanks to AI
By Emma BurleighMarch 20, 2026
15 hours ago
SuccessCareers
AI boom is fueling demand for skilled trades—and demand for technicians, HVAC workers, and electricians is soaring, with six-figure salaries to match
By Preston ForeMarch 20, 2026
15 hours ago
LawX
Three Tennessee teenagers are suing Elon Musk’s xAI for creating sexually explicit images of them
By The Associated Press and Travis LollerMarch 20, 2026
16 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.