We are proud to announce that Gehring Group has won the Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year Award at the Business Insurance 2022 U.S. Insurance Awards in New York City! The Awards recognize excellence in the commercial insurance and risk management sector.
During the past 30 years, Gehring Group has built an organizational culture based on trust, caring, respect, appreciation, and inclusion. It is part of our DNA. In the summer of 2020, it was evident that our team was impacted greatly. As we watched other companies respond and take stances, and the many social injustices coming to light, we felt inspired to act. The question then became how? Did we want to put out a statement condemning these acts or donate money as so many had? When others zig, our team zags. What could we do that would make an impact in our community as that is part of our Why?
After we took Juneteenth as a day to read, educate ourselves, and reflect, it became evident our team wanted to educate others. The place to start was educating and inspiring our team before we could do anything that would impact the community. We asked for volunteers to help build the foundation of an even more inclusive environment – from this our Culture of Inclusion Committee was born, with 60% of our team members signing up to be part of the committee. The committee’s first order of business was to plan the Truth & Equity Experience, an all-day training held in July 2021. The committee broke into three subcommittees – education, introspection, and communication – who each worked together to plan a portion of the training.
On the day of the training, we had 95% employee participation, and it was also a special day as it was one of the first times our company was back together in-person since the beginning of the pandemic. The day was kicked off with an hour-long film that the education subcommittee worked on with a local media company to put together. The film took viewers through a look back at the historical legislation and court doctrine as it applied to race in the US.
The second part of the training was hosted by the introspection committee. They took the team outside for a privilege walk. As the training was based on trust and respect, our team was very open about experiences. It was a humbling and eye-opening experience for all involved.
The third and final part of the Truth & Equity Experience was hosted by the communication committee. They led participants on “PATHS,” with different stations representing 5 steps: Plan & Educate; Analyze; Trust the Process; Have Courage; Share Knowledge. Each station gave actionable steps.
Since then, the Culture of Inclusion committee has gone on to provide education on other topics such as Hispanic Heritage Month, Women’s History Month, and more! We look forward to continuing to strive for betterment when it comes to creating a more inclusive culture at our workplace.
To see all of the Business Insurance 2022 U.S. Insurance Awards winners, click here: https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20220914/NEWS06/912352458/2022-US-Insurance-Awards-winners-revealed?utm_campaign=BI20220914BreakingNewsAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&vgo_ee=632rBGaHg8b7Mq8FLs9nwidlFFz9RdYnm6FQhsOHwzQ%3D&utm_campaign=BI20220914BreakingNewsAlert&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ActiveCampaign&vgo_ee=632rBGaHg8b7Mq8FLs9nwidlFFz9RdYnm6FQhsOHwzQ%3D