Hartford Business Journal

panies acknowledge they can and will do more to increase diversity. But they haven't been totally sit- ting on the sidelines. In fact, many companies have invested significant resources to develop diversity and inclusion programs. For example, Bloomfield health insurer Cigna and Aetna parent CVS Health both made DiversityInc's 2020 top 50 most diverse companies list, ranking 42nd and 24th, respectively. Since Floyd's death in May, Cigna's top executives have conducted doz- ens of listening tours and talked to thousands of employees to hear their concerns and desires for change, said Susan Stith, the health insurer's vice president of diversity and inclusion. Of Cigna's 11 top senior executives, two are Black (holding the positions of general counsel and president) and two are women, HBJ's analysis found. It also has two Black people on its board, making it one of the most diverse public companies in Connecticut in terms of African Americans in key leadership roles. No Connecticut company re- viewed by HBJ had more than two Black people in their C-suite. Ever- source had the most diverse board with three Black members. In recent years, Stith said Cigna has refreshed its diversity playbook around four pillars — leadership accountability, inclusive culture, organizational commitment and mission alignment — and added new programs like cultural sensitiv- ity and unconscious bias training. The insurer recently launched a new initiative that requires mandato- ry diverse candidate slates for certain open positions, to ensure women and minorities get a fair shot at key jobs. It's similar to the Rooney rule in the National Football League, which requires teams to interview ethnic- minorities for head coaching and senior football operation jobs. "If there are open jobs, we'll make sure there is diversity on that slate," Stith said. To benchmark progress, Cigna tracks its hires, retention rates and engagement scores, Stith said. It also publishes an annual cor- porate responsibility report that highlights certain data like gender di- versity among its workforce, although it doesn't break down racial diversity. Craig Pintoff, chief administrative and legal officer at Stamford-based United Rentals, said each month his company's senior leaders hold an Lacking C-suite diversity, this CT company heightens focus on racial equality Matt Pilon mpilon@hartfordbusiness.com I n early June, with a historic num- ber of Americans in the streets across the country protesting police brutality against Black people, many corporations felt the urge to respond in some way. There were donations to Black Lives Matter causes, and displays and statements of support — rang- ing from JPMorganChase CEO Jamie Dimon taking a knee along- side bank branch employees in New York to Ben & Jerry's calling for the government to defund the police. Amid the public outcry sparked by the videotaped death of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, top executives at Orange-based utility operator Avangrid found themselves hav- ing an unusual discussion. In a virtual workshop and discussion organized by the company's top human resources exec, Peter Church, and run by talent develop- ment consultant Karen Hinds of Waterbury-based Workplace Suc- cess Group, Avangrid's senior leaders received a history lesson on Black in- equality, covering the U.S. slave trade, emancipation and Great Migration, Church recounted in an interview with HBJ. They told stories about the first time they interacted with a Black person, and discussed the concept of privilege, as well as how to be sensitive to Black employees feeling distressed or angry about Floyd's killing. Church had approached senior leaders ahead of booking the ses- sion. He said there was unanimous agreement that the discussion would be beneficial. "I was really pleased with that," Church said. "The amount of trust they put in me to bring a meeting forward says 'I might be a late-career white male and I'm watching things happen in our society I may or may not fully understand, but I have an opportunity to spend three hours with my col- leagues in a raw conversation and learn — yeah, I'm up for that.' " CEO James Torgerson, who was less than a month away from retirement at the time, did not skip out. "Not only did he advocate for and sponsor this [workshop], but he par- ticipated in it," Church said. Avangrid, like a number of public companies headquartered in Con- necticut, has no Black appointees in its C-suite nor on its board of directors. Asking well-paid, mostly white executives to be vulnerable during a sometimes awkward or difficult conversation is not going to change everything overnight, but Church said the unusual meeting is a good start and he hopes to build on it with other initiatives. For example, Church aims to propose a change to the company's long-term incentive structure for higher-ups, to tie some compensation to measurable diversity metrics. Corporate diversity is something institutional investors have been inquiring about more frequently of late, and that lack of diversity at the highest levels has perhaps never been more apparent than during the June workshop, Church said. While Avangrid's broader workforce tends to mirror that of the population of the communities in which it oper- ates, things begin to skew the higher up the ladder you go. "That right there is an epic chal- lenge for all HR and business leaders in all industries and sectors," Church said. "As you move up in a career path, there's a demographic fall-off, wheth- er it's women or people of color." Avangrid also launched, on June- teenth — the June 19 holiday mark- ing emancipation of Black people in the U.S. — a business resource group for Black employees. Business resource groups are common at large corporations, and focus on employee development, networking, recruiting, retention and other issues, and are usually organized around specific cultural or racial groups. Adding to existing business resource groups, including for women and military veteran employees, Avangrid's new one had been in the works before the recent Black Lives Matter protests. "Is it a response to George Floyd? No," Church said. "Is it more urgent because of him? You better believe it." >> Diversity Inc. continued Peter Church, Chief Human Resources Officer, Avangrid 16 Hartford Business Journal • September 7, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Orange utility Avangrid recently launched a business resource group for Black employees. PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Top 5 advantages for Black professionals working at small companies vs. large ones A sense of belonging Ability to implement your ideas Trust with colleagues Respect for your contributions Direct access to clients Center for Talent Innovation survey Representation of Black adults in the workforce Fortune 500 CEOs 0.80% Executive/senior-level officials & managers 3.20% Professionals 8% College degree holders 10% Center for Talent Innovation survey

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