Over the last year Colonial Life and Unum have taken several steps to strengthen the company’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. Unum Group was recently named one of America’s Best Employers for Diversity by Forbes. This year, the company jumped 88 spots, with a rank of 73 out of 500 companies. In the Insurance category, we moved from #14 in 2020 to #8.
“Through the challenges of 2020, Unum and Colonial Life continued working hard to build an inclusive workplace that welcomes everyone and encourages employees to appreciate and value differences,” said Ericka DeBruce, Unum’s Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer. “This recognition demonstrates our strong foundation, and dedication to taking inclusion and diversity at Unum and Colonial Life to the next level.”
2020 Inclusion & Diversity Highlights
Last year, we explored new ways of working, offered resources specific to the unique challenges of the pandemic and addressed issues related to social justice. Some of the resources provided by the company’s Inclusion & Diversity Team and Employee Resource Groups included:
- The Ability Employee Resource Group expanded their existing support group to include all employees who were seeking mental and emotional peer support. The group is a safe space for employees to talk about anxiety and depression, isolation, COVID-19 fears and caring for elderly parents.
- The Multicultural Leadership Development Program was created to help employees of color advance to higher levels of leadership. There are 15 employees in the 2020 cohort.
- Juneteenth — observed on June 19 — was named as a Day of Solidarity for Unum where the company joined with local business and civic leaders in home office cities to publicly commit to racial equality. The company hosted a Fireside Chat featuring diverse leaders who answered employee questions on racial inequality.
- In July 2020, our Social Justice Fund was launched to create stronger, more equitable communities by supporting organizations working to end racism, discrimination, and bias —resulting in more than $260,000 granted to organizations to date.
- As a company, we have always encouraged employees to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day through community service and outreach, and last year MLK Day was designated as a company holidays for U.S. employees.
- Live events with guest speakers were offered about balancing parenting while working from home, staying engaged with teams during remote work and practicing meditation and mindfulness to reduce stress.
The company also increased transparency of workforce diversity data, trained leaders to become inclusive champions and established partnerships with diverse organizations.
The America’s Best Employers for Diversity list is presented by Forbes and Statista Inc., the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The list is selected based on Statista’s methodology, guaranteeing unbiased results and providing reliable insights. Over 50,000 U.S. employees were surveyed in companies with a minimum of 1,000 employees based on the following criteria:
- Direct recommendations: Employees gave their opinions on a series of statements regarding age, gender, ethnicity, disability, LGBTQIA+ and general diversity in their current workplace. The recommendations of women, elders and ethnic minorities were weighted higher than non-minority groups.
- Indirect Recommendations: Participants also evaluated other employers within their industries that stand out either positively or negatively regarding diversity. Only the recommendations of minority groups were considered.
- Diversity Among Top Executives/Board and Diversity Engagement Indicators were also part of the evaluation.
View the 2021 America’s Best Employers for Diversity list here.
