Building a more diverse talent pipeline is a priority for TJX. As positions within various levels of management become available, we are committed to deploying recruitment efforts that should result in an increase in the representation of diverse candidates including people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and women. These efforts will be implemented as we recruit for positions, both internally within the Company and as we undertake searches for new Associates externally. Another way we are working to increase the diversity of management is by better aligning the diversity of our Field Management teams to more closely reflect the demographics of the community being served. We are also pursuing opportunities to increase minority candidate representation when we recruit for early career positions.
In the U.S., we expect to continue to partner with organizations through colleges and universities that offer development for members of diverse groups on their campuses. Similarly, in Europe, we recruit from a diverse pool of candidates for our Graduate, Placement, and Apprenticeship Programmes. We continue to broaden our relationships with schools, secondary education, and smaller regional universities to widen our reach.
To support our recruiting efforts, in 2020, members of our global recruitment teams participated in an external certification called "Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging for All," which included multiple online courses. The majority of our U.S. Talent Acquisition team has also completed unconscious bias training, with the remainder of the team planning to complete it in 2021. We believe these training efforts can help our recruiters source more diverse pools of job candidates and demonstrate our commitment to inclusion and diversity to those candidates.
Additionally, in 2020, we implemented a new tool in the U.S., Canada, and Europe to reduce potential unconscious biases in job descriptions and other recruitment communications and identify language that may undermine our inclusion efforts. We also benchmark periodically against peers to better understand how we can leverage opportunities to expand awareness of TJX and our available jobs among diverse audiences.
Enhancing Executive Diversity Policy Statement
At TJX, we believe that the continuity and stability of our most senior leadership team, which includes decades of off-price retail and TJX experience, has been a critical factor for our success. We are also proud of our culture that prioritizes Associate development and advancement within our organization. We are working to build a more diverse pipeline of talent to support our efforts to improve the diversity at all levels of our organization.
Consistent with our inclusion and diversity efforts, in March 2021, our Board approved a policy that, in the event that our Board commences a search for a Chief Executive Officer from outside TJX, or if our management commences a search for an executive-level role reporting directly to the CEO from outside TJX, the initial list of candidates will include qualified female and racially/ethnically diverse candidates. If our Board or our management engages a third-party firm for such a search, that firm will be instructed to include qualified female and racially/ethnically diverse candidates in the initial list of candidates provided to TJX.