As we celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity this week, it’s a wonderful time to acknowledge and celebrate the Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) at Maritz as part of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) efforts. Created to provide a community-driven space for support and feedback, our employee resource groups ensure we honor the individuality and needs of all employees. These passionate and dedicated team members give a great deal of time and energy to help us move our DE&I initiatives forward, so we want to share some highlights of their impressive accomplishments so far.
We formed these groups based on survey and focus group feedback from our employees. This feedback was used to guide our overall DE&I efforts and led us to form the following Employee Resource Groups: Amplify Women’s Network, Caregivers, Individuals with Disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and Race & Ethnicity. Although the Amplify Women’s Network has been active across Maritz for several years, it is now included as an ERG. Here are a few details on each group:
Amplify Women's Network
Purpose: A women’s network to connect, support & empower women within Maritz. Amplify strives to help members not only develop personally and professionally, but also help them connect with other Maritz women and give back to our communities.
Current Efforts: They just wrapped up the celebration of Women’s History Month and the 2nd Annual Dress for Success clothing drive. They are planning a “Watch It! With Amplify” virtual video event this summer.
Caregivers ERG
Purpose: Caring for a loved one can be incredibly challenging, so this ERG seeks to provide a supportive and welcoming environment for caregivers by providing information, advocacy and resources for our employees who are caring for a loved one.
Current efforts: Podcasts, articles and other resources are made available for team members who are caring for a loved one. They highlight the benefits that are available to them within Maritz as a caregiver and are also sharing helpful external resources.
Individuals with Disabilities ERG
Purpose: The goal of this group is to create a space where all employees feel valued and enabled for success by educating and raising awareness about important issues, promoting accessibility, and fostering a sense of community and support within the culture of Maritz for employees with disabilities.
Current efforts: This group has published articles on special months, such as Mental Health Awareness Month and published a recent article on Autism Acceptance Month. They will continue to highlight important topics that relate to their mission.
LGBTQIA+ ERG
Purpose: This group’s goal is to provide a welcoming space for individuals within, and who closely support, the LGBTQIA+ community. They provide a space to listen and share past and current experiences, support one another, celebrate one another, and educate the Maritz community about LGBTQIA+ issues.
Current efforts: Over the last few months, they published educational internal articles on the purpose and importance of gender-neutral restrooms in the workplace and the importance of respecting pronoun choice. They meet monthly to focus on providing support and mentorship, Pride planning activities, educational activities, events, and communications.
This group is currently planning Pride Month activities on the Maritz campus and virtually for employees and other activities within the St. Louis community including virtual trivia, Pride history/education. They are participating in the St. Louis PrideFest June 24-25, where they’ll be offering family-friendly crafts and walking in the parade.
Race/ Ethnicity ERG
Purpose: The goal of this group is to invite all Maritz employees together in a professional setting to learn and create dialogue around issues of race and ethnic equity. They also want to foster a sense of community among employees to better support people of color in the workplace.
Current efforts: They are hosting a World for Cultural Diversity Day celebration on our campus on May 24, with a showcase of various cultures. They recently highlighted Black History Month with a trivia contest and also published an article to highlight the Chinese & Lunar New Year and featured a traditional Chinese music display.
These ERGs are under the umbrella of our DEI Council, which is managed by Marilyn Stowers on our team. We are excited to see how these committed and creative individuals will continue to help us along this important journey. Stay tuned for more details on these ERGs and their leadership in the coming months.
