Continuing our commitment to inclusion in 2025

In 2020, the Flint & Genesee Group committed to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) across our organization to ensure employees feel valued, included, and heard – so everyone on our team can show up as themselves and do their best work. We did it because it was the right thing to do for our organization, community, and future.

Looking to 2025 and beyond, we will continue our commitment to DEI because it makes sense for our work. As our DEI statement explains: “Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to who we are and everything we do. Our policies and practices empower our employees to contribute to their individual success and the success of the organization.”

We also aim to create a more racially just and equitable community, because when businesses and individuals have equitable opportunities, the entire Genesee County economy thrives.

We know this because we have seen the successes. Increased participation in our internal Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) has resulted in community partnership. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, The Minority Resource Group brought community leaders and Group staff together in a video reciting Dr. King’s famous speech. In June, United Spectrum, our LGBTQ+ ERG, hosted resource tables at Flint Pride Festival and Fenton Pride Night where they shared information about our divisions while supporting their community. And our Women in Action ERG hosted the first Women’s Equality Day Luncheon which was attended by more than 250 women and featured a keynote presentation and panel of local women leaders.

For the community, we have taken steps to uplift people who are under-resourced. For example, the Flint & Genesee Business Bridge spotlights BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color)-owned businesses, giving them a place to connect with potential customers, training, and special events. The Genesee County Small Business Impact survey found that 67% of BIPOC-owned businesses close within six years in Genesee County. With the Business Bridge, we are working to improve that number and see our small businesses thrive.

Explore Flint & Genesee, Genesee County’s convention and visitors bureau, is also working to make our community more welcoming with new accessibility tools like AudioEye, which helps seeing-impaired users navigate our website. When all visitors feel invited to Flint & Genesee, we can increase tourism to our area – ultimately helping our economic bottom line.

We also recently launched a pilot for a DEI Champion program with the YMCA of Greater Flint. Through the three-session program, the local organization learned about various aspects of DEI. It was the lessons learned and the resulting actions that earned them the DEI Champion Award at the Art of Achievement Awards in November 2024. With the success of this pilot, we will launch the DEI Champion Certificate Series in February 2025.

For four years, the Flint & Genesee Group has focused on being more inclusive, for the shared success of our region. We are committed to continuing this effort to raise our community toward our organization’s vision: In 2040, Genesee County is a top-five community in Michigan based on jobs, talent, livability, and equity.

We can’t achieve that vision unless we include everyone. Let’s ensure that everyone has a place in Flint & Genesee, so that we can all thrive together.

This article originally appeared in?the Genesee County View.