BATON ROUGE – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana was honored with a statewide award for its efforts in creating a diverse workforce and corporate commitment to a culture of inclusion. The Louisiana Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) State Council and the Louisiana SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Summit Committee formally presented the 2020 Excellence in Diversity Award to Blue Cross on Friday, Jan. 31 at a ceremony in New Orleans.
Blue Cross was one of several Louisiana companies nominated for outstanding programs that foster a culture of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and community.
“This award is a true reflection of the hard work that our employees and leaders have engaged in over the years to make diversity come alive at Blue Cross,” said Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer John Brown Jr. “And, it shows our members and all Louisianians how important diversity and inclusion are to us.”
Blue Cross has numerous initiatives to get employees and other stakeholders engaged. Among those SHRM leadership cited in explaining why Blue Cross was selected for the award are hosting more than 100 diversity training sessions for employees at all levels in the organization, establishing a diversity council and forming multiple employee resource groups (ERGs) that support those traditionally underrepresented in the workplace, such as African Americans, women, veterans and LGBTQ employees. While the ERGs are focused on those employees, anyone can join, and all employees are encouraged to participate.
SHRM also noted Blue Cross is among the first Louisiana companies to sign the CEO Action Pledge, where senior leadership and employees pledged to “check their bias, speak up for others and show up for all.”
“This award is the culmination of daily effort on the part of our leaders and employees to create a culture that attracts the best talent for a workforce as diverse as our state,” said Blue Cross Director of Diversity Programs and Business Development Roderic Teamer.
Teamer and members of Blue Cross’ Human Resources team accepted the award at the fifth annual Diversity & Inclusion Summit, presented by the Louisiana SHRM at the Renaissance New Orleans Arts Hotel.
To see highlights of the event, click here.
About the Louisiana SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Summit
The Louisiana SHRM Diversity & Inclusion Summit is an opportunity for community thought leaders to move the discussion from diversity awareness to action in diversity. The goal of the summit is to have meaningful discussions about the current state of diversity in Louisiana businesses and to learn best practices and strategies for improvement.
About Louisiana SHRM
Louisiana SHRM believes that businesses benefit from having a diverse workforce and wants to help the business community create an inclusive workplace that embraces differences in race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic background, religion, disability and veteran status.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is committed to our mission to improve the health and lives of Louisianians. Founded in New Orleans in 1934, we are a tax-paying nonprofit health insurer with offices in every major region to serve our customers. We were recognized in 2019 as an honoree of The Civic 50, named by Points of Light as one of the 50 most community-minded companies in United States.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. We are a private mutual company, owned by our policyholders, with an independent Louisiana Board of Directors and no shareholders. We invite all Louisianians to visit our website at www.bcbsla.com or talk to us on social media.
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