Founded in 1920 by the remarkable pair - Arthur Pitney and Walter Bowes - Pitney Bowes opened for business with a seemingly simple, yet significant invention - the world's first U.S. Postal Department-approved postage meter.
One of the first Pitney Bowes postage meters
1940 Pitney Bowes Chairman Walter H. Wheeler Jr., resigns from a private club in protest of the club's anti-Semitic membership policy. He vows that the company's employee roster would be representative of the ethnic and racial population of Stamford, Connecticut.
1942 Chairman Wheeler boycotts a hotel when it refused to register one African American Pitney Bowes salesman during the company’s annual recognition event. To demonstrate his displeasure, the Chairman immediately left the conference with 20 sales people in tow.
1944 Chairman Walter Wheeler re-issued a memo to the head of personnel to ensure the company had hired blacks and people of Polish and Italian descent at the manufacturing plant in the same proportion to the local population. He stated, "I do not expect that we can bring about pro-rata employment overnight, or that it is logical to work on any exact formula. However, there must be objectives in any undertaking of this kind, and the apportionment of the population is about as good an index as I think can be found."
1947 The Race Relations Institute is established at Fisk University. Among the first to pledge support of the program is Pitney Bowes Chairman Walter H. Wheeler Jr. The company participated in successive years in the late 1940s and was again among the first corporations to support the re-established Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in 1997 through the early 2000's.
1942 Roosevelt signs The Fair Employment Act, requiring that all federal agencies include in their contracts with private employers a provision obligating such employers not to "discriminate against persons of any race, color, creed, or nationality in matters of employment."
1946 The Supreme Court Rules that segregating interstate bus travel is unconstitutional.
1948 President Harry S. Truman outlaws segregation in the U.S. military.
Pitney Bowes Chairman, Walter Wheeler
1950 Pitney Bowes is recognized by the National Urban League for "leadership in providing better job opportunities for Negroes in industry."
1954-1964 The Civil Rights Movement flourishes. Brown vs. Board ruling renders desegregation unconstitutional and marks the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of the bus. John F. Kennedy is elected president, the first Roman Catholic to ever serve as president. 200,000 march on Washington and hear Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his "I Have A Dream" speech. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy successor, signs the Civil Rights Act, declaring discrimination based on race illegal.
Pitney Bowes employees working in the factory
1964 Newly appointed Pitney Bowes CEO John Nicklis publicly proclaims the company’s continued resolve to hire minorities and aid those less fortunate. Because of his stand in the era of extreme Civil Rights conflict, Nicklis' life is threatened and he has to be protected by bodyguards.
1954-1964 The Civil Rights Movement flourishes. Brown vs. Board ruling renders desegregation unconstitutional and marks the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks refuses to move to the back of the bus. John F. Kennedy is elected president, the first Roman Catholic to ever serve as president. 200,000 march on Washington and hear Martin Luther King, Jr. deliver his "I Have A Dream" speech. President Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy successor, signs the Civil Rights Act, declaring discrimination based on race illegal.
1965 President Lyndon Johnson extends the affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender.
President John F. Kennedy meets with Civil Rights leaders
Dec. 10, 1962
1971 Nicklis' successor, Fred Allen, gives an impassioned speech on Corporate Social Responsibility at the International Chamber of Commerce meeting in Switzerland. The basic tenets of his speech (courtesy, respect, ethics and morals) become known as Pitney Bowes' Business Practice Guidelines.
1973-1975 Affirmative Action is mandated by the Federal Government. The Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975 permanently ban requiring literacy tests to register and require some areas to offer bilingual ballots, thus extending voting rights to countless Hispanic Americans.
John Nicklis and Fred Allen
1980's Pitney Bowes moves to significantly increase the number of women in sales profession. Pitney Bowes begins recruiting at five Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
1987 Chairman George Harvey creates the Women’s Resource Group and the Minorities Resource Group.
In recognition to its commitment to women in the workplace, Pitney Bowes was feautured on the cover of BusinessWeek Magazine as "One of the Best Companies for Women"
1990 Pitney Bowes establishes the Work Life Task Force. The company is featured on the covers of Fortune and BusinessWeek magazines as an innovator in creating career opportunities for women and minorities.
1993 Pitney Bowes' Diversity Task Force creates a vision statement and a Diversity Strategic Planning process. The process required each business unit to develop measurable goals to create and sustain a diverse environment (communications, training and development, supplier diversity, recruitment and retention, etc.). The units were evaluated on progress against plan and the diversity ratings were a factor in the compensation of senior executives.
1994 Pitney Bowes receives the Catalyst Award, honoring businesses for innovative efforts in advancing women, because of our Diversity Strategic Plan.
1997 Under the direction of its new Chairman and CEO, Michael J. Critelli, Pitney Bowes implements a Diversity Communication strategy designed to develop partnerships and promote the company’s tradition of diversity within diverse communities. The ELC redefines diversity, establishes new performance standards for Business Unit's Diversity Strategic Plans and links senior manager's compensation and performance to diversity results.
1997 Mr. Critelli is appointed to the Board of Trustees of the National Urban League.
1998 A comprehensive managerial accountability program begins in which each manager receives a 360-degree evaluation of performance. Diversity efforts are a major part of the ratings.
1999 The company develops a brochure on "African Americans and Messaging" and a related exhibit for which the Smithsonian Museum provided us with photos and artifacts of the country's first African American postmaster.
1991 Civil Rights Act of 1991 passed. Glass Ceiling Commission established.
The "African Americans and their Contributions to Messaging" brochure. Part of the exhibit related to this brochure is on display at the Smithsonian Museum.
2000 Pitney Bowes celebrates "Diversity Around the World" with a global diversity day observance in its 134 offices around the world.
2000 At Pitney Bowes, total purchases with women and minority-owned businesses exceeds $57 million.
2002 Pitney Bowes Chairman and CEO Michael J. Critelli is named Chairman of the Board of the National Urban League.
2004 DiversityInc.com ranks Pitney Bowes Number 1 in its "Top 50 Companies for Diversity." Pitney Bowes Chairman and CEO Michael J. Critelli serves his second term as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Urban League.
2005 Pitney Bowes is recognized as a Corporate Diversity leader by four prominent institutions: DiversityInc. NSHMBA, Black Enterprise, and ELC.
Michael J. Critelli presenting at the annual National Urban League Conference.
"Our long history of inclusiveness and collaboration is directly linked to the production of innovative products and solutions for the global market." - Murray Martin, CEO
With 36,000 employees in 130 countries worldwide, Pitney Bowes is an international enterprise. Like a tapestry of a thousand different threads, we join together, each contributing in our own way making Pitney Bowes the global leader it has become.
Diversity is an essential component of our business success, and our company has long been recognized for pioneering practices in diversity and inclusion. Diversity holds a prominent place in our company's history. It is built into our corporate business strategy, and it is hardwired into the metrics by which we evaluate our performance.
At each of our sites worldwide, we foster a culture that values individuality and innovation, and encourages risk-taking and unconventional thinking. We promote cooperation and collaboration, and we provide programs that recognize individuality and personal growth.
Management is specifically tasked with increasing diversity awareness and action, and Pitney Bowes teams are recognized for their success in introducing new programs that further promote diversity and inclusion.
Employee Engagement
Diversity, inclusion and collaboration are responsibilities that belong to all our employees.
Employee Development
We work to maximize the performance of all of our assets - especially our people.
Supplier Diversity
We believe that our path to future success is tied to the quality and diversity of the supplier relationships we form.
