At the Women of Color and Their Allies (WOCA) event, Ameren President and CEO Martin Lyons shared the actions his company is taking to advance women of color at all levels in the workplace.
This WOCA session, titled “CEO Fireside Chat: Leading a DEI Culture Worthy of a Legacy,” featured a conversation between Lyons and Carolynn Johnson, CEO of DiversityInc. The two CEOs discussed ways to not only implement strategies for women of color but also ensure that this work will endure in the future.
“One of the big issues to come out of the pandemic is that no one — no employer, no person — has been immune to the Great Recession, which has partially been caused by a lack of investment in people,” said Johnson. “From a diversity perspective, Ameren’s leadership pipelines are an example of its investment in people. The company has achieved representation of women and women of color within its leadership ranks, which rivals that of the DiversityInc Top 10.”
Lyons spoke about the programs that Ameren offers to support women of color, from recruitment to retention. The company also provides leadership development opportunities for women of color seeking to move up in their careers.
“It’s about systematically improving. It’s about knowing what excellence looks like and making sure that you’re looking outside of the four walls of this company to what’s going on in and outside of our industry,” said Lyons. “It’s about setting goals to high standards that move us towards excellence and making sure that we align resources to achieve those targets. Being able to be self-aware, to admit where we have gaps and then recalibrate and seek to close those gaps.”
Watch a clip of the session here and subscribe to DiversityInc Best Practices to watch the full video!
