We also placed on three specialty lists.

U.S. Bank has again been named to DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity list. The company ranked No. 40 (No. 46 last year) on the overall Top 50 List, ranked No. 13 on the Top Companies for People with Disabilities list, No. 8 on the Top Companies for Philanthropy list and was again named to the Top Companies for LGBT Employees list. 

“Over the past year, we’ve encouraged courageous, open conversations among leaders and their teams, and placed greater emphasis on training and workshops focused on translating philosophy to action,” said Kate Quinn, U.S. Bank Vice Chair and Chief Administrative Officer. “We also saw membership growth in our employee-led Business Resource Groups, which are an important driver of engagement, community support and innovation.”

The company’s new, customized training opportunities and workshops, like the Women’s Advancement Initiative and African American and Hispanic Leadership Summits, helped highlight unique needs of specific employee segments. Leaders were also invited to participate in an Inclusive Leader series reframing diversity, equity and inclusion as business strategies they could use in their day-to-day work. Other notable accomplishments from 2019 included adding diversity, equity and inclusion as a part of all employees’ performance reviews by identifying inclusion as a “core behavior” of success. 

“We can build all the right programs, but the thing that creates real progress is employees taking these ideas to heart and driving diversity, equity and inclusion in their day-to-day jobs,” said Greg Cunningham, U.S. Bank Chief Diversity Officer. 

Employee feedback shapes his team’s programs, ensuring they’re relevant, meaningful and reflect employees’ lived experience. In addition, all employees are encouraged to join the company’s Business Resource Groups (BRGs), where they can contribute directly to the business by pitching and helping to implement new ideas for products, services, employee engagement and community involvement.

One such idea, driven by U.S. Bank’s Spectrum LGBTQ BRG, was the official addition of pronouns to the company’s employee directory. A simple programming update provided a pathway for the BRG to educate employees on the importance of identifying and using the correct pronouns when speaking to and about coworkers and customers. 

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in the last 12 months, but we’re more excited for what’s ahead,” said Cunningham. His team hopes in 2020 to build on the foundation of new programming by partnering with the company’s Human Resources organization to introduce more opportunities for self-directed and corporate-driven mentorship, sponsorship and career advancement. “We’ll continue to reinforce U.S. Bank as a place where employees, customers and communities know we’re listening to them, see us acting on their feedback, and feel part of a deep partnership through which we’re committed to building the future, together.”