Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1346891
W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 23 M A R C H 8 , 2 0 2 1 D I V E R S I T Y / E Q U I T Y / I N C L U S I O N a conscious decision throughout the entire hiring process: such as placing ads in diverse job boards, recruit- ing from different trade schools or historically black universities and bringing a diverse set of interview- ers to review the candidates, human resources executives and CEOs says. Employees then need support throughout their careers to make sure they stay with a company. "ere's a notion of being a 'cul- tural fit,' at a company, which is often code for 'people like us.' We want to make it a 'cultural add.' Adding people from different backgrounds makes us stronger," says Michael Bourque, president and CEO of MEMIC Group, a workers compen- sation insurance company. "Our senior team isn't diverse. We acknowledge that. We are looking at how we promote and develop talent. As a whole, the insurance industry has not done a good job on diversity. We recognize that. e industry has an aging workforce that's heavily white. To succeed going forward, the industry must change. It's the chal- lenge for the next decade for us and the insurance industry as a whole," Bourque says. Equality Maine's Drew high- lighted the work by some companies, such as supermarket chain Hannaford, to embrace differences. Everyday action For the past two years, Hannaford has had a Mosaic Resource Group that includes a diverse mix of representa- tives from stores, district and home office level to work on diversity issues. e group, as well as Hannaford's DEI counsel and executive C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » There's a lot of room to grow on [LGBTQ+] acceptance … the frontier right now is being trans. — Gia Drew EqualityMaine F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Gia Drew Gia Drew, program director of , program director of EqualityMaine EqualityMaine, , in the Equality Community Center in Portland. in the Equality Community Center in Portland.