Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com • September 21, 2020 • Hartford Business Journal 29 BUILDING A DIVERSE & INCLUSIVE WORKFORCE 108 Leigus Road, Wallingford, CT 06492 | Anthem.com | p: (203) 677 8170 September 21, 2020 Dear Connecticut Business Community, A key tenet of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's mission is improving lives and communities, and this is underpinned by our vision to be the most innovative, valuable and inclusive partner. Today, I want to ask you: how can we work together to make Connecticut the most inclusive state? At Anthem, we have a strong commitment to inclusion and diversity, which we firmly believe makes us a stronger, more impactful organization. I'd like to share some of the ways we've prioritized fostering an inclusive culture, and I am excited to read about the ways you are working to do this, too. As a group, we have an opportunity to make Connecticut a destina- tion and home-base for people who share these values, and we know it will strengthen the broader impact we can have. • Awareness. We start here. We provide all our associates with information and resources about unconscious bias and its connection to healthcare disparities. With compas- sion and empathy, we discuss what we learn, encourage listening and create moments for open dialogue, which we believe helps people to acknowledge and address bias, and reach more inclusive decisions. We also have nine Associate Resource Groups that help our employees to engage with each other and more deeply understand the challenges that impact our colleagues, families, and diverse communities in which we live and work. • Engagement. We offer associates opportunities to turn awareness into acceptance and action. We empower individuals to take action to address health disparities and/or racial inequality through their work. But we know it doesn't stop with our work, so we've expanded associ- ate giving programs to support people experiencing health disparities and/or racial inequality, and we've also expanded our new financial commitments to ensure we include organizations supporting social justice issues and addressing health and economic disparities. • Modeling our values. We are making a $50 million, five- year pledge directly impacting health disparities, racial inequities and key drivers of health such as food insecu- rity, mental health, housing and economic recovery. Our goal is to help revive and rebuild underserved neighbor- hoods and support our local communities. • Collaboration. We leverage our vast resources of people who live our mission, vision and values everyday within the communities where we live and serve. This is why my letter to this group is so important to me. We believe that the best way for us to make true progress is to take our mission and vision, and embed it in our communities where we live and serve. Whether we help to build allyship, awareness, acceptance, and cultural competency alongside care providers, health advocates and community leaders, or enhance our work with local nonprofits and other local, state and community partners, we believe collaboration to collectively improve is the strongest way forward. We hope you will join us in our ambition to ensure the Connecticut community is an open and welcoming place that actively embraces and pursues progress, inclusion and diversity. Warmly, Jill Rubin Hummel, President Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut

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