How is Kansas City doing when it comes to diversity and inclusion in the workplace?
According to a new survey sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
The Resource Development Institute, working on behalf of the chamber, surveyed a range of area organizations – large and small, for-profit and nonprofit – and discovered that:
- More than 80 percent have CEOs or senior management that actively project a commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Almost 80 percent regularly check their buildings and operations to make sure they can be accessed by disabled people.
- More than 70 percent said their offices demonstrate diversity and inclusion as part of their daily operations.
- Almost 60 percent have created a formal policy, plan or mission statement regarding diversity and inclusion.
But some of the findings suggest there’s still work to be done. Many of the survey respondents said their senior management and boards have 25 percent or less representation by diverse professionals.
“The marketplace is shifting. The workforce is shifting,” said Karen Daniel, chair of the Greater Kansas City Chamber and CFO at Black & Veatch. “Our businesses won’t grow, can’t grow, without diversity.”
To that end, the chamber plans to use the survey results to create news diversity and inclusion programming.
The report was released at the Greater Kansas City Chamber’s ACE Awards, which salute diverse managers at local companies. This year’s honorees were:
- Amanda Beaver, manager/audit, KPMB
- Michael Gonzales, diversity and inclusion director, Hallmark
- Debra Johnson, department vice president/operations, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
The ACE Awards also included the ACE Supplier Diversity Award, given to a manager who has excelled at increasing supplier diversity. This year’s winner was Terry Hedrick, director of generation engineering at KCP&L.
