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nebulous concept of “work-life balance” sought by remember being involved throughout my childhood
Millennials, Gen Z is leveraging their power to drive in key causes to help others like clothing and food
substantive changes to corporate policy. drives,” she said. “Even throughout my college years,
For example, Project Matriarchs, an organization I was always engaged on campus for DEI including
created and led by a growing community of college leading a student group. My passion for being an ally
students, is drawing media attention for their list of continues in my professional life.”
employer best practices with an emphasis on sup- Grant believes that allyship means speaking up
porting caregiving employees while recognizing con- for those who do not have a voice, whether in a
temporary conceptions of gender. The organization’s positive manner or in a corrective manner. That can
Pledge to Care petition stipulates: “When crafting be dangerous, especially in a corrective situation,
corporate policy, it is critical that employers continue so part of her job is ensuring that each of Siemens’
to center the experiences of women. That being said, 40,000 team members in the United States have the
we want corporate policy to reflect the fact that our tools and the confidence to be an ally.
generation does not see gender as a binary.” “We want everyone to be an ally and an advocate
Innovation drives business at Siemens USA, a for their coworkers, so we have various channels that
global company focusing on digitalization, electrifi- allow people to speak up,’ she said. “We’re teaching
cation and automation for the process and manufac- employees how to speak up and stand up for others
turing industries and is a leader in power generation and for themselves. We’re teaching our managers
and distribution, intelligent infrastructure and dis- how to work with their teams so they feel like they
tributed energy systems. Part of Grant’s mandate is can speak up whether it’s with new ideas or correc-
reinforcing and improving a workplace culture that tive action.”
not only serves current employees and customers, That confidence starts at the top with Barbara
but is also attractive to the next generation’s top Humpton, president and CEO of Siemens USA. The
talent. most important part of leading, Barbara recently
“Do you want to be the company Gen Z looks at noted in an essay, is actually letting others lead. The
and says, ‘let’s go work there because they’ve already key to employee empowerment, she added, is ensur-
done the work, we don’t have to fight, we can just be ing that everyone feels a deep sense of belong-
who we are’ or do you want to be the company that ing by using “every available muscle to advance
misses out on all that potential talent?” she asks. diversity, equity and inclusion.”
By focusing on setting up a framework that
ALLYSHIP promotes allyship, Grant wants to not just remove
obstacles but get people used to being an ally.
Grant became involved in DEI efforts at Siemens
through the women’s employee resource group, “It’s never easy to be an ally, but we can make it
Women’s Impact Network at Siemens (WIN@S). easier,” she said.
“I went to one event and I was hooked,” she
recalled. “I was motivated, I wanted to do more, so I DEI ALL THE TIME
started taking on more and more responsibilities on DEI at Siemens USA is an “all the time” impera-
top of my actual job.” tive. With support from the C-suite, Grant drives a
After nearly 20 years of developing go-to-market holistic approach to building and leveraging a work-
strategies, focusing on the customer experience and force that mirrors the diversity of its customer base,
driving operational excellence for Siemens, Grant suppliers, partners and society as a whole.
accepted the role of Head of Diversity, Equity and Last summer Siemens USA launched Courageous
Inclusion in September 2019. It was a natural fit, Conversations, a series of town hall meetings to
combining her passion for advocacy with her deep clearly articulate the company’s commitment to
knowledge of Siemens’ operations and customers. racial equality and invite employees to
Allyship and advocating for others has been express themselves. Senior
a throughline in Grant’s life since she was a child, leadership
born into a long line of champions for DEI. “I can

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