Mainebiz Special Editions

V O L . X X V I I N O. V § 2 D I V E R S I T Y / E Q U I T Y / I N C L U S I O N C onversations about sexual orientation, race and reli- gion may seem out of place at a corporation, but talking about those issues is exactly what needs to happen to change a culture and embrace diversity. As companies in Maine try to attract new workers, improve diver- sity and draw talent from other locales, these conversations are happening more and more. "Our senior leadership has truly leaned in and been vulnerable and had those conversations that are not familiar at work. Our senior leadership is really willing to do it and that makes all the difference for the organization as a whole," Ryan Polly, MaineHealth's interim vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). "e squishy, emotional stuff may seem uncomfortable — but when you can get a leader to connect at the heart level on this you can move the needle faster than just focusing on the head level," Polly says. In September, MaineHealth started a DEI counsel made up of people from different hospitals in its network, community members, corporate members, and a patient and family advisor. It also hired a vendor, slated to start in February, to do a comprehensive review of job descriptions, recruitment, advancement, review patient expe- riences and how MaineHealth col- lects data and uses it. Meanwhile, a different consultant is working with the top leadership team to do DEI training classes and ongoing monthly training. "We're starting our DEI journey. We're in a state where a lot of people F O C U S We need to make room for people of worth and character no matter where they are from. We need to get rid of that phrase 'from away' altogether. 'From away' may have worked a century or two ago, but the world has become a village. — Reza Jalali Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center 22 M A R C H 8 , 2 0 2 1 P H O T O / J I M N E U G E R Reza Jalali Reza Jalali, executive , executive director of the director of the Greater Greater Portland Immigrant Portland Immigrant Welcome Center Welcome Center don't have to think about this, but we want to review the full spectrum of our processes," Polly says. "Conversations we're having in the workplace are very different than what we had five years ago or even in 2019," says Chanel Lewis, IDEXX Laboratories Inc.'s head of global diversity, equity and inclusion. "ere's this whole idea of being 'a Mainer' that you have to have lived here for seven generations. I challenge that. We're all Mainers. And we have to expand well beyond that." Maine, like its northern New England counterpart Vermont, is one of the whitest states in the nation. Reza Jalali, executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, agreed. "We need to make room for peo- ple of worth and character no matter where they are from. We need to get rid of that phrase 'from away' alto- gether. 'From away' may have worked a century or two ago, but the world has become a village," Jalali says. "We need people who are multilin- gual, transnational and responding to the American promise that America is a symphony and gets richer when more people contribute," Jalali says. In addition to embracing just people from out of state, companies need to attract and retain a broader mix of diversity to survive and thrive. e larger companies in the state, which have large human resources departments to build diversity train- ing, have been on the forefront of DEI efforts in recent years, says Gia Drew, program director of Equality Maine. "Major corporations have driven DEI. ere's pressure globally to be a good corporate citizen. People are making an effort and making steps in the last few years," Drew says. Still, work needs to be done. For example, nationally, 46% of LGBTQ+ employees are not open about their sexual orientation at work, Drew says. "at's a troubling statistic. We believe it's the same in Maine. ere's a lot of room to grow on acceptance on that front and the frontier right now is being trans," Drew says. When companies look to add a broader mix of employees, it has to be ONE STEP AT A TIME Changing the culture Companies are setting goals on diversity, equity and inclusion B y J e s s i c a H a l l

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