Creating brighter futures for our colleagues, our clients and our communities
President and Chief Executive Officer, Mercer
Vice Chair, Marsh McLennan
A diverse workforce and an inclusive culture makes us stronger as an organization and improves the quality of our work. According to data on client team effectiveness, diverse teams produce greater economic success for all.
By understanding, valuing and leveraging the strengths of all colleagues, Mercer holds a differentiating advantage. Nurturing a culture where everyone can be themselves and feel a sense of belonging leads to more engagement and retention of the best talent — and it’s the right thing to do. Diverse teams generate richer discussions, more innovative ideas and greater impact than teams where everyone is the same. Below are details about Mercer’s approach, strategy and actions, and commitments.
Transcript
What does it mean to be who I truly am? Being who you truly are means that you get to live in your power. It means taking a stand for yourself. It means speaking up for what you believe in. It means that you can speak freely and happily about your family, your love, life, your partner. It means having a weight lifted off your shoulders. It's about being authentic. It's about being real. It's about being solid and secure. Being about to show your identities and being able to say to the world, “this is who I am and I love it.” Because when I think about being my true self, especially now in this climate, I think about the fact that I have this kind of multiplicity of identities. I am a gay black man that's a father, a husband, I am a mother. I am a lesbian. I am Latina. I am bisexual. I’m trans and I don't do labels. I am gender queer and I'm so proud about it. I am truly just a human being, trying to have impact in the world. I'm a part of the whole. And I love who I am and I’d love for anyone else who has all of these intersectionality is to own them and to be proud of them and to carry them with them whatever they do. And so when we think about pride and why it's so important, especially now with what's going on, let's think about the Black community and let's think about the gay Black community. Like Black Lives Matter as an amplification of pride, like as a highlighting of the additional voices in the community that are black. And it's important that we use all the things that we can, whether it's our voices or the privilege that we have, the privilege that I have as a white man to raise the voices of people who might not otherwise be heard. Because we have a responsibility to the other ones, generations to keep fighting more rights, more equality. It's no longer good enough to just say, “oh, you have equal rights, that's okay” or “I don't see a problem” or “I don't see color, I don't see queerness.” It's not good enough anymore. You have to educate yourself. And I think that's what pride this year is about. It's about justice. It's about fighting for visibility. It's about fighting for equality. It's about fighting for human decency. It's about diversity. It's about being accepted. It's about making sure that you feel that you can occupy space in this world. It's about everyone being welcome at the table. And that is pride. Like I can see my human in you.
At Mercer, we are creating a culture of belonging where every colleague can bring their whole self to work and thrive.
Representation: The diversity of our workforce reflects the communities where we live and work. Learn more about Mercer’s workforce and our commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Belonging: We’re developing leaders, people managers and colleagues to be visible allies and sponsors for Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) colleagues.
Thriving: We’re delivering equitable learning, development, promotions and rewards to all colleagues.
We’ve established diversity advisory councils at the enterprise and local levels to guide actions with local leaders.
Mercer offers a mix of regional and local mentorship programs to help elevate BIPOC colleagues through career sponsorship.
All colleagues are required to attend learning sessions and certify that they understand the concepts of unconscious bias, being an ally and respect at work.
People managers participate in additional forums to discuss creating and sustaining an inclusive culture.
Each leader has created a plan for engaging, retaining and developing BIPOC colleagues.
Mercer has instituted practices designed to attract and hire diverse talent. We’re debiasing job postings and diversifying and training our hiring managers and interview teams.
Our BRGs are an integral part of Mercer’s ability to succeed on building a culture of belonging.
Made up of colleagues who voluntarily work together to help Mercer achieve its diversity vision, each BRG plays a critical role in improving our firm’s culture and environment. Providing unique perspectives from across our organization, each BRG focuses on our abilities to hire, develop and retain the best talent; work with an increasingly diverse client base; and connect to the increasingly diverse communities in which our colleagues and clients live and work. We currently have BRGs across Mercer from the following communities: Racial & Ethnic Diversity, Women@Mercer, Rising Professionals Network, AccessABILITIES and PRIDE.
We are proud to be recognized by leading publications, associations and studies for our achievements. Featured awards include:
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